Left Behind
by Soyna
Summary: Reno is missing in action after being sent on a simple scouting mission. Old Relationships that were deemed unimportant are causing havoc in the recovering world...specifically ShinRa.
1. Prologue

**LEFT BEHIND**

* * *

**Authors Note:  
**This story is being edited mainly for grammar and hopefully more coherent as well. April 10/10  
Thanks to all of you that reviewed to the original flawed text.

**Summary:  
**Reno is missing in action after being sent on a simple scouting mission. Old relationships that were deemed unimportant are causing havoc in the recovering world...specifically Shin-Ra.

* * *

**Prologue: Missing Turk**

**June 16 -- Tseng Office — 5 pm**

* * *

It had been two weeks and Reno had only given him one report was back and it was a pathetic one at that. Reno was never good with his reports and often late with them. He was usually got all excited over the initial discovery and sent a quick email or note but never good with the follow-up. He was often late by a couple of weeks on the following documentation. He often griped about the amount of time it took away from doing the fun stuff.

Tseng looked at the picture of the woman that was in the file on his desk. It was a picture of when the target was seventeen. She had been just a kid during the time of the Wutai war. The picture looked like a mug shot. She had not been known for her warm personality.

Her name was Lira, a woman who was in charge of a Militia group for a small town that was on the edge of Wutai. She got the job because she was good at what she did, even at such a young age. Lira and her brother, Lore, had been the ones responsible for keeping the town of Bearnin safe.

When they had arrived, they had made the wrong assumption that her brother was the Commander, but she set them straight rather quickly on that. She had proven rather quickly that she was not just a figurehead for the town, because she was the mayor's daughter.

Her hair was long and dark which she wore loose around her shoulders and draped down her back. She had worn thick sunglasses that she had refused to remove, much to the distaste of the SOLDIERS, Genesis and Sephiroth. She was a good Commander, if he remembered correctly. A very capable young woman, despite her young age and she had proven to be invaluable to their mission. He had even tried to recruit her to become a Turk but she had refused.

"Sir?"

He looked up at Rude who was standing across from the desk. "Has there been word back yet on Reno?"

He looked at the concerned black man who was adjusting his sunglasses again. It had been two weeks and Reno was only supposed to be gone a week.

"I have not heard yet," Tseng said simply as he looked at the files on his desk. All Reno had sent was a text message stating that the target was located and was going to observe more before reporting back. He had sent a picture back to him, showing a picture of Lira. She was older but he could see that she had not changed much since he last saw her. She had been wearing the same militia uniform and in the picture he saw Lore, her twin brother at her side. He could see that she was a woman now and he could feel the threat and danger of her even in the grainy camera phone picture.

She was obviously still the Commander.

He didn't doubt that she now held her role through fear.

She was a very unusual and dangerous woman. Someone, that he should have kept a stronger eye since they left that town. He was regretting counting on scouts and was sure that none of the ones that had made it back had reported correctly on the situation there.

"Sir?"

"An extraction is being organized," Tseng said. "If nothing else, we will kill her to end this nonsense."

"I will be joining this mission."

Tseng looked at the big man. "Of course."

Tseng himself planned to go on this one.

Lira was too dangerous.

The first five scouts he sent had come back but they had reported nothing. He believed them too. The next couple, he was beginning to doubt there sincerity in what they were reporting back, to the point where he interrogated the last one.

Lira had definitely had an influence on him, even though, as he broke, he found that there was no new information to be gleaned.

The last two did not return, which was why he had sent Reno. He needed a trained man to check on Lira and find out why she did not want the scouts to return. He did not suspect that Reno could not handle the simple observation of Lira. He knew how to stay out of the lime light when it was required.

"Where is the extraction mission, sir?" Rude asked.

"Bearnin. A town on the edge of Wuitai." Tseng frowned heavily. "We will leave tomorrow at noon."

Rude just nodded and left the room without waiting for any further instructions.

Tseng sat down at his desk and picture again. There was no emotion on her face. Not even the anger that he remembered spouting out of her mouth on a constant tirade when he last had dealings with her. Of course, she had sent her anger mostly at the two First Class SOLDIERs who were there on the scouting mission.

He had hoped that her anger was just something of youth, but he was beginning to doubt that with the disappearance of one of his Turks.

His phone rang and he looked at the name of the caller.

He was not looking forward to this conversation with Rufus about this latest development.


	2. Trade

**LEFT BEHIND**

* * *

**Authors Note:  
**This story is being edited mainly for grammar and hopefully more coherent as well.  
Thanks to all of you that reviewed to the original flawed text.

**Summary:  
**Reno is missing in action after being sent on a simple scouting mission. Old relationships that were deemed unimportant are causing havoc in the recovering world...specifically Shin-Ra.

* * *

"Sir!" A voice interrupted his phone call. Tseng frowned and slammed the button on the intercom.

"I told you that I do not want any – ANY - interruptions!" he yelled as he still held the phone to his ear. He was trying to make sure that everything was being properly prepared for the retrieval mission. "It better be important!"

"Sir!" Her voice sounded strained and he calmed himself a little bit. She may be sitting at the desk, but she was not the type of person to be shaken so easily. After all, she had been working with Turk's her whole career. "There is someone here to see you and I think you should see her now."

He frowned. "Who the hell would be disturbing me at six in the morning?" He knew that he was tense and his nerves were frayed. He had to get himself back together or else he would be useless on the mission.

A voice that he had not heard in years came over the intercom. He heard his secretary gasp and the sound of a chair crashing. "I have info on your missing Turk, Tseng."

He froze at the sound of the voice. "Lira?"

There was a cold laugh that came over the intercom. "Are you going to see me now, Turk?"

He nodded before he realized that she couldn't see him, "Enter." He pressed another button at the bottom of the desk. It turned on the cameras as well as alerted his fellow Turks that assistance was required.

She entered his office.

She had matured from the seventeen year old girl that he saw last time. She strode into the room, wearing the Commander of Bearnin Militia uniform. She had on large dark sunglasses that covering her eyes and he was grateful for that. He had only seen her eyes once, and those cold icy bright eyes were enough to unnerve anyone. Her black hair was longer that before and reached down to her curvy hips which swayed with each step. She still held that aura of power but now it was mixed with madness as she squared her shoulders and a sneer formed on her full lips.

His eyes went to her hand where there was a flash of red.

Once he realized what it was, he gasped.

She threw it on his desk and he found himself staring at the red pony tail that he was certain belonged to Reno. He knew no one else that had hair like that.

"We have to have a little discussion about your stalking," she said and crossed her arms under her ample breasts. He was well aware that she had her spear attached to her upper right arm and even though it wasn't currently in her hand it, could be thrust through him at a moments notice. Her other arm was clad in black metal. It used to be grey, but she had obviously upgraded the armour. She cocked her hip to one side resting that clawed hand there. He could feel her cold glare, even with those dark glasses.

"We have interests in the town, and I had…"

"Don't bullshit me, Turk," she said, unmoving. "I was the only interest Shin-Ra had in Bearnin and I have no tolerance for you scum, SOLDIER, Turk, or scientist ruining my town and family."

"I am not lying, Lira," he said as he looked at the ponytail that was on his desk. He had some horrible images of what else she could have done to Reno. He had been the one that had taught her how to interrogate people, after all.

She shook her head. "It doesn't really matter. Your interests in the town are now going to shift. I am no longer there. I am standing in front of you and I am proposing a trade."

"Trade? You are trying to trade a Turk for something? We don't buckle to threats like that." He hated to lose Reno, but he wasn't about to let them succumb to terrorist threats and she was not on the nice list. He knew that Lira would go through with her threats. She was not one to buckle once she made a decision. It looked like she had the plan already in mind and Tseng was not liking the little smirk that was on her lips. If he had been a lesser man, he would have shuttered.

"I haven't killed him yet," she thrust her chin towards the pony tail that was on the desk. "He is hurting though and, as you well know, I don't have qualms about killing."

"What are you trading for?" he whispered. "I do not have the authority…"

"I already told you not to bullshit me!" She yelled, her voice sharp and full of ice. It was a voice that you could hear over the din of a battle.

"What do you want?" He said simply. His phone was blinking. They were surrounding his office.

"I need…" she lowered her head and her hair hid her face from him. He could still see how tense her jaw was though as she spoke the rest of the sentence through clenched teeth. "…medical help for Errow."

He blinked. "Errow?"

"I don't want any of that crap that Hojo was trying to pull on us. I don't want Hojo anywhere near him! Got that! This is my last chance for Errow and you will give it to me." Her voice cracked a bit but that resolve quickly returned. "If I see Hojo even in the same building, I will gut him."

"This is hardly the way that you would go around asking for help." He thought of adding that Hojo was dead and that would not be an issue, but he had a feeling that she wouldn't really listen to anything that he said. She had her own agenda and as illogical as it was sounding, she was set on her path.

"ShinRa, has never been forthcoming with assistance in the past," she snarled and raised her chin again. "Do we have a trade then?"

He looked at her. Her jaw was clenching and unclenching and it looked like she had a nervous tick under her left eye. He realized that she was clenching her hand to prevent herself from shaking. "Once Errow is healed, you can have the pesky Turk back," she said.

Tseng examined her and took a slow easy breath. "I cannot do that trade. I do not know…."

"It is what I am offering. It's a simple trade!" She snapped. "A life for a life! An eye for and eye! That is how it works!"

Tseng looked at her. She was completely mad. She gave a shrug of her shoulder and she was holding that spear in her hand. It was shaking as she held it. He could hear the metal glove armour clank as she clenched that hand into a tight fist. "It is ShinRa's fault that he is sick to begin with!"

"Lira, you need to calm down," Tseng spoke as calmly as he could. "We don't need to go this route."

She laughed.

The laugh sent a horrible chill down his spine. Her metal clad hand reached up and pulled through her hair. He doubted he could reason with her. Her chuckle continued. "Come on, you are the head Turk," she said with a crazy grin. "You do care about what I do with the red headed pest? Don't you?"

Tseng sighed. He realized that he should have kept a closer eye on her to prevent this from happening. He knew that she was not stable.

"How could I agree to this _trade_?" Tseng said. "What illness does this Errow have?"

Her crazy smile disappeared and a frown came over her face. "None of the doctors know but you have mad scientists at your disposal." He spotted tears coming out from underneath her sunglasses. "Your crazies can heal Errow and then you can have the Turk. Once he is healed, I will disappear back to the small crappy little town."

"It is not that simple, Lira," Tseng said. The blue light flashed on his phone. They were in position around his office. All he had to do was to say the word and they would rush in.

"You are the one making this complicated!" She snapped and took a step closer to his desk. "It is a simple trade. A life for a life!"

"You are asking something that I cannot guarantee," he said as calmly as he could. He could see that she was not stable. She shook her spear slightly as it extended forward and the tip was nearly touching his chest.

She sneered at him showing teeth now. "Doesn't your Turk mean anything to you?"

"Of course," Tseng said. "But this trade is ridiculous. We should not even be talking about this."

She took a deep breath and it was like her whole body shuttered. She lowered her spear but he knew that she was not at ease. He remembered well how she could handle that weapon. Even while looking relaxed it did not mean that if she chose to strike it would not be deadly.

She looked at the floor and in a low mutter, "Then they are both dead."


	3. Info Mission

**LEFT BEHIND**

* * *

**Authors Note:  
**This story is being edited mainly for grammar and hopefully it will become more coherent as well. 10/04/10  
Thanks to all of you that reviewed to the original flawed text.

**Summary:  
**Reno is missing in action after being sent on a simple scouting mission. Old relationships that were deemed unimportant are causing havoc in the recovering world...specifically for Shin-Ra.

* * *

**Information Gathering**

**3 weeks ago -- May 27 -- Bearnin**

* * *

Reno smiled brightly as he got off the bus. This was going to be a breeze of a mission. All he had to do was report on a girl and do a report on the town's progress.

Easy, pezzy, breezy!

It was like a paid vacation. There was enough in the town to keep his attention for the week that he was going to be here. Bearnin; a hick town nestled in the mountains near Wutai. There was a bar and a hotel that had a big comfy bed and that is all he really could think about at the moment. He hated the bus ride. He missed taking a chopper but he had to at least present himself as a tired worker who was on a runaway vacation.

He was wearing casual clothes to fit the role and it felt a little odd to be out of his suit. Reno was comfortable though. His jean shirt was open slightly at his throat and he wore a simple warm wool jacket and a pair of black jeans. He still had his weapon hidden in the jacket; there was no way he would travel without it.

He picked up his bags, and lit up a cigarette and took a deep drag. It was nothing like Junon or Edge but it wasn't too bad. It wasn't as Hicksville as Nibelheim or Gongaga.

He didn't understand why he had to report on the town though. From the picture that he was given, he had inferred that Tseng had an old flame in this town and he wanted to check up on her.

He didn't really care about the motivation. He wanted to have a drink, a good meal and go to bed. He would start his work tomorrow and see if he could find this chick that Tseng wanted him to scope out.

He got his room and threw his bags in and went down the bar. He smiled brightly as he ordered his drink.

"On vacation?" the bar tender asked as he served the rye and coke.

"Oh yeah. Glad to be outta the big city, that is for certain, yo." He grinned and drank a little too quickly. The bus ride had been grueling. He would ask to at least be flown in for the next time he went on one of these information searching missions.

The bartender laughed. "Where ya from?"

"Edge," he said easily and downed the rest. He would have to ask what type of rye it was, it was damn good.

The bartender frowned slightly. "Don't let them hear that."

"Them?"

The bartender pointed his chin towards two figures standing outside the big window that was in front of the bar. They looked like they were in some sort of military uniform. He frowned. He didn't read anything about a Militia in the notes that Tseng gave him, but then his notes were vague for what he was supposed to be looking for.

"Why?" he asked and shook his glass at the bartender. The ice hadn't even had a chance to get the last drink cold.

"Shin-Ra caused a lot of problems in the past and those two are determined to make sure that they do not cause any more problems, especially the Commander." The bartender gave him another drink.

"Well, that is not a problem. I don't work for Shin-Ra, yo," he grinned. "I work for Strife Delivery Service, finally got a break to get away from that slave driver." He chuckled lightly. Strife would kill him if he knew that he was using him and alibi but he didn't care really. It was not like anyone could easily get a hold of Strife anyway. The guy never answered his phone. Reno didn't know how he kept his business up.

The bartender smiled. "Good, would hate to see another one driven out of town."

_Another one?_ He thought about asking but decided to change the subject; didn't want to appear too snoopy on his first day in the town. "I just wanted to get out of the city, you know. It's so stuffy in Edge," he said. "Don't realize it until I got up here, yo."

The bartender nodded. "Yeah. It helps that there never was a reactor up here."

"What? No reactor? I thought there was one here, yo?" Reno frowned. He knew that they were close to Wutai, but he thought he heard mention of a reactor here. He must have heard wrong.

"Another reason for ShinRa to stay out of here. I know that they don't do that anymore, but the Commander, well, the Commander is the Commander and that is that." The bartender laughed and went to take another patron order.

'_The Commander is the Commander and that is that?'_ Reno tried to figure out what that was supposed to mean. He was beginning to wonder if he should have done a little more research on this town. Now he was curious on whom this Commander was. She obviously didn't like ShinRa. He was glad that he took Rude's advice and didn't wear his Turk suit. He would most likely be thrown out by now, if he remotely looked like a Turk.

He flirted with a nice girl that came in for dinner. She was quite pretty and told him quite a bit about the mountains and places to visit that would help him relax. He was curious to ask about this Militia group that seemed to be the police force in the town but refrained. He was sure that he would find out more about this Militia as he walked around. He had to set up his backup plans first before he got so intense in his investigation of the town. He promised to meet her for dinner tomorrow.

He smiled and watched the pretty girl walk away from him as he admired how she walked.

This was going to be a good mission.

He went back to the bar for one more drink of the rye before he went back to his room. "You work quick."

"Huh?" he asked as the bartender grinned at him.

"Marci. I heard you talking. She seems to like you," the bartender grinned.

"She seems sweet," he grinned.

"Careful though," the bartender warned. "She works with the Commander."

"Why would that make a difference?" he asked as he took a deep drink of the rich rye.

"The Commander is quite protective of the townsfolk, and she will not tolerate you hurting Marci. Marci is taking care of her son and the Commander would not want to see her distracted."

"I wouldn't want to take her from her job," Reno said. "I mean…man. I just thought she was cute and she was nice to talk to her,yo."

The bartender shook his head. "I just like to warn people that getting in the Commander's way is a good way to get hurt. She has quite a temper."

"Temper?"

"You don't want to be the reason she goes off," the bartender said. "You won't have a problem if you don't cross her."

"I just want a nice vacation, yo," he said. "You are freaking me out with this talk. I don't plan on doing anything illegal. I mean, I plan to go for a walk in the mountains and all, not rob a bank."

"Sorry, man. I don't mean to disturb your vacation. This last one is on me." The bartender said as he handed him another shot of rye. Reno graciously drank the free drink.

He went back up to his room and grabbed one of his duffel bags. He wanted to crawl into the bed but he had to make sure that he had an escape plan. The talk about this Commander got to him a bit but he doubted this sleepy little town would cause trouble, but then, sleepy little towns have been known to go bad before.

He walked outside and lit another cigarette as he planned where he was going to place his emergency kit. The night air was getting a little chilly and he was glad for the warm wool coat that he was wearing. He knew that it would be cold, but he could see his breath and it just wasn't his cigarette that he was smoking.

He noticed two Militia members in front of the Medical Center. A man and woman, and it was the woman that got his attention. It was the woman in the picture that Tseng had given him.

She was prettier than her picture. She was wearing the uniform and weapons of someone who was seasoned at her job. She obviously was not a token member, like he had seen in other small town Militia groups, where they just filled the uniforms with high ranking family members. He moved to a bench to finish his cigarette and casually watched the two.

It took him a moment but he remembered her name. Lira. From the uniform he could see that she was not just a lackey either. He figured out that she was the Commander when a passing Militia member saluted her and darted off when she scowled at him. She looked pretty even with the scowl.

There was something hot about a woman in power. He flipped open his phone and took a quick picture. He caught the man beside her as well. He typed a quick text to Tseng and closed the phone. There, his initial report was done. He knew that it would piss off Tseng, but hey, it was a report. It wasn't like he had much to say anyway. He just spotted her.

He spotted Marci come out and talk to the woman. They nodded to each other and the young man that wore a similar uniform who placed a hand on her arm.

He wondered why she wearing such dark sunglasses? The sun was setting. Of course, the picture that Tseng gave him, she was wearing them there too. He figured that she must be like Rude and sensitive to light.

He finished his cigarette and put it out in a nearby sand pot. He normally would have flicked it away, but he really didn't want to piss off the authorities that were standing in front of the Medical Center.

Marci came back out, and she was pushing a chair that had a kid sitting in it that was wrapped in a warm blanket.

He stopped cold at the sight. He swallowed hard and tried not to gape and hoped that it was just his eyes that were playing tricks on him. He rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

Lira knelt in front of the boy and ran her hands over his cheeks.

He knew that he shouldn't be staring. He wondered if he had to much rye to be seeing the impossible.

Obviously it was not impossible.

Reno wanted to pull out his phone and take another picture, but he knew that would be a bad idea. This was not going to be a good mission.

He had thought that this Lira was one of Tseng's old flames but by the kid in the chair, it wasn't Tseng that this woman had a relationship with.

It had been Sephiroth.


	4. Waiting for Trade & Caught

**Left Behind**

* * *

Waiting for the Trade

--June 17—Tim Unknown— Place Unknown--

* * *

Reno swallowed and tried to ease the pain in his throat as he watched Lore gave the boy that looked like an eight year old Sephiroth some soup. He knew that the boy's name was Errow and that he was Lira's son.

As well as, Sephiroth's son! She never once denied it and it seemed to be the whole reason that she hated ShinRa. Well, not the whole reason, but a big damn part of it anyway.

"Where's mom?" the boy said as Lore, her brother, wiped his brow. Lore looked very much like his sister. The same facial structure as her but he was not as harsh looking. His hair was a big shaggy but defiantly not as long as her and his eyes were a dark blue that once, may have been the same as her, but he saw her eyes and they were no longer the same. He didn't dare ask whey they were that way. He knew that wasn't going to get an answer anyway.

"Trying to get you a doctor," Lore whispered. The boy's eyes looked at him. Those green eyes, the color that he had only ever seen in Sephiroth and his remnants were fixed on him. "Will mom let him go." At least they were cat slit like. That, would have been to much.

"Eventually," Lore said.

_Yeah, when she's killed me, _he thought. She had made it clear to him that he was just a tool to ensure that Errow got better. A stupid plan that just didn't have any roots in logic! He had tried to talk to her and tell her that they didn't need to use him for ransom that they could just ask. ShinRa was not the same organization that it once was. She just didn't get it.

Lore understood.

Errow understood.

But they both were afraid of her!

Hell, he had been through some hairy situations in his life, but he had never been as scared as he had been under her _attentions._ She was absolutely insane! Telling her that had made his voice disappear and his throat constantly hurt. All it took was her to press her hand against his throat and squeeze.

He understood why they couldn't convince her that ShinRa wasn't evil.

Every now and then Lore would try to reason with her. Hell, Lore was the only reason that he was still alive. He was pretty sure that Lira would have left him in a bloody pool if it wasn't for him and she would be using his rotting corpse for the negotiations.

Errow would look at him with sympathy in those green eyes of his and it was a little creepy.

Both of them seemed to realize that Lira was absolutely insane.

"Mom is going to be okay too? Right?" Errow said. "We will find her a doctor too? Right?"

Lore nodded. "That is the plan."

Plan. Pfft. His plan was as stupid as her plan! He strained against the hand ties that were making his fingers blue. Lore's plan was to make her realize that she needed help by coming to Edge with Errow. Lore had made comments that this trip would make her realize that her thought process was crazy after all. Lore had babbled on about how he needed to get her cornered to wake her up. He didn't talk about details but it didn't sound like it was all that good of a plan. Get her cornered so she would wake up!

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

They were both stupid and crazy. All so very stupid and he was the pawn in all their plans.

Of course, he knew that they were _that_ stupid. She was the Commander and watching how she tracked him down in such a clam and cold fashion told him that there was still smarts in there, but it had nothing to do with reality.

"Is Reno okay?" Errow asked. "He looks like mom really hurt him."

Lore sighed. "He is a Turk. He can put up with it until this is all over." He stroked the shaggy hair. If the hair was a little longer, it would be just like Kadaj, but a little thicker. Creepy kid but he seemed a decent kid, despite who his dad and mother was.

Hell, he remembered a time when he did have quite a bit of respect for Sephiroth. He was a cold guy, but he was good at his job. That was before he wanted to destroy the planet and have revenge for how his mother was treated or something like that. He heard the story's from Clouds friends about how it all went down, but never from Cloud.

Suddenly the boy gasped and his already pale face when as white as the sheets that surrounded him. Tears sprang from his eyes as he buckled in the arms of Lore. The kid was in a lot of pain. A hell of a lot of pain. It struck him quite often, usually it is what when the poor kid was sleeping. He would wake screaming about how bad his back was hurting or how his stomach was hurting. One or the other. Kid was in pain. Lore had the medicine bottle to help with the pain in easy reach and just let the kid drink from it. He noticed that since that had moved to this slum house, they had been quite liberal with the medicine for the kid. He just wished they would give them some of the medicine too. He was in pain! But everything he had those thoughts he felt a bit bad. It wasn't the kid's fault that he was in pain and had a crazy family that were now holding him hostage in order for Errow medical care. Plus, they had not broken him that far yet.

He was able to hold onto his anger about their damn stupid plans! Even, if he couldn't vocalize to them anymore. Especially, her.

He sighed. He didn't have a chance against her. It was the first thing Lore told him when he was put in the cage. "She can beat a FIRST who was trying to get her sunglasses off, you do not have a chance, and that was when she was a kid. Do you really think you stand a chance now?"

He didn't believe the Lore, but after having a couple of dealings with her, he didn't doubt it at all. He didn't doubt it was Sephiroth himself that she could beat.

She was the scariest person in the world right how.

He liked it better when the scariest person in the world was dead and Cloud had dealt with it. Now he was stuck in the middle of it and not just on the side.

He painfully swallowed. His throat burned as if they had poured acid down it. His arms throbbed with the lack of feeling in them. He could feel tears coming out of his eye and willing it to stop. He didn't want to cry anymore, but he no longer seemed able to stop them when they started.

"Here."

He looked up. Lore was offering the bottle of medicine to him. "It looks like you need a sip of this." Lore's hand went to the side of his face and stroked his cheek lightly. He tried to pull away, but he didn't have the strength too. He looked up at Lore. The boy treated him quite well when Lira was away. "Do you want some?"

He nodded. He wanted it. Whatever was in the bottle, if only will stop a little bit of the pain. Lore looked at him with his sorrow filled eyes. "_There is no hate, only joy, For you are beloved by the goddess, Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds," _Lore quoted. "Have a drink."

He shuttered every time that he quoted a bit of Loveless. Lore seemed to have a fondness for it and it was quite unnerving to hear the verses from him. How was it even appropriate! But, he nodded and the bottle touched his lips and he took a bit of the potion. It was like an instant relieve to feel it wave through his body and he sighed with the release of the pain allowed his eyes to close and go to sleep.

* * *

Caught

May 28 -- AM -- Bearnin

* * *

This was big! He worked most of the night making sure that his surveillance was set up. He placed bugs everywhere, including the Medical Building where the mini-Sephiroth was staying. It was a long night and he even started on the report that he was supposed to send out. He had to find out what was going on here.

Reno had a bad feeling about it. He hoped that there wasn't a secret lab here or something like that. He really didn't want to have to deal with another array of remnants arising or if that boy was a clone of Sephiroth… man, he was going to ask for backup as soon as he got some information. He was pretty sure that this is not what Tseng sent him here for or else he would not have been there alone. Damn, he wished Rude was here, but he would not even blend with the town at all and most likely, he couldn't get the big man to remove his sunglasses for the mission anyway.

He checked all his bugs at the small table in his room.

He listened to the Medical room's first. He learned the boy's name was Errow and Errow was in a hell of a lot of pain. He was glad that he was wearing the headphones. The boy sure had a healthy pair of lungs on him. He woke twice in the night with moaning and screaming about either his stomach or his back. The first screaming attack he figured the voice was of that Commander, Lira that was comforting the boy, because he kept whimpering and calling her mom. The second time it was a mild mannered nurse that was obvious used to the kids painful episodes. Damn. It made his throat go dry listening to that.

The other bug he listened to was Lira's house, which she shared with her brother. There was nothing much of a conversation going on there. Just Lira telling her brother to get up and then him telling her to give him five more minutes.

Nothing to tell him anything about the kid.

Then he realized that it was nearly noon and he was hungry. He hid all his stuff back in the suitcase and went downstairs to the bar and was hoping to see that Maria there. It would be nice to have another meal with her.

Of course, when he got down there, he was not expecting to see the Commander of the Milita of the town of Bearnin sitting inside the bar. No one else seemed to be bothered by the sight, so he didn't let it bother him. He went to the same spot that he was in before and tried to keep his eye off how snug fitting her uniform was. Hell, she was giving Tifa a run from money on the chest department, seeing her up close.

The bartender was the same as yesterday and gave him the same drink that he ordered yesterday and asked him if he wanted something to eat. "Breakfast or Lunch?" he asked with a smile.

"Yeah, guess I slept in a little bit. The town is just the vacation I needed. The mountain air," he said. "I think I will have a lunch with my drink though."

"Good choice," the bartender said and then the smile on his face left. He looked over and saw why.

Commander Lira was walking towards him. He raised his eyebrows at the bartender. The bartender shrugged and took steps back to answer the calls of some other customers.

She sat beside him adjusted her sunglasses on her face, but not removing them from her face. "So, they are sending Turks to check on me now, huh?" she said with such venom in her voice that it startled him.

He played it cool though. "What? A Turk? Me? I…"

She shook her head at him. "I have let people go before and they were smart enough to run, but you have seen Errow, so that is not going to happen."

"Listen, you got the wrong guy. I am just an accountant for Strife Delivery services. I am not one of those Turks." He said. He new how to train his voice, but he knew that he could be in a bit of trouble. Was the gig up already? How the hell would she know so quickly!

She made a little sound and laid down some of his listen devices that he placed yesterday.

He stared at it.

"You made the mistake of targeting my son," she whispered and leaned close to him. He felt a cold metal dagger against his side. "Do not test me Turk. I have no qualms about killing ShinRa scum like you."

* * *

…tbc…

Nc….Waiting / Attempt to Allude / Glimmer of Hope

don't forget to review....


	5. WaitingAttempt to AlludeGlimmer Hope

**Left Behind**

* * *

Waiting

June 17 -- Unknown Location -- Unknown time

* * *

Reno was grateful for the little bit of sleep that he got. When he opened his eyes, Lira was back. From the look of her it seemed that Tseng turned down her crazy offer. There was no surprise there. Tseng would have noticed that she was insane.

She wasn't wearing her glasses now and her strange blue mako glowing eyes were focused on him. He couldn't help but shiver. Damn it. Those eyes freaked him right out. He never really got an explanation to why those blue eyes glowed like that. Clouds eyes glowed with the same blue, but her eyes, were so much colder than his. He doubted that there were anyone else around that was mako affected like Cloud or, it seemed, this Lira. People realized the advantages were not as great as the disadvantages.

She must have lost her sunglasses. Lore was bandaging her ankle. At least someone got a shot in. "Don't look at me Turk!" she hissed.

"Calm down!" Lore said. "And be quiet. Errow is sleeping and I want him to stay that way." His voice was strong and she sank in the chair that she was sitting in. There was a sneer was evident on her face. There was a lot of anger there and he knew that he wasn't the total reason for it. Hell, he had given her plenty of reasons to be mad at him, but she was that way before he ran off his mouth.

"Your benevolent Turk leader has until 10 pm to change his mind about your life," she growled. "The radio, Lore."

"Sis, you really need to rethink this whole thing," he said in a condescending tone. He tightened the bandage tightly around her ankle causing her to hiss and pull away from him.

"Don't start that crap!" she hissed. He hoped it was Tseng that shot her or at least the wound was painful. Real painful. "The radio! We have until ten."

The way she said that made him absolutely shutter. He wished he could see a clock so he knew how much time he had left. He wondered if Gaia would forgive him for all the crap that he had done in his life. He doubted it. Damn it.

"Damn it, sis! You need to…" his words were cut off as she slapped him, a sharp and painful open handed slap. Yeah, he was sure a couple of his bruises were because of her slaps. Lore twisted with the slap and then slowly straightened up and glared at his sister.

They stood there staring at each other. Lore's eyes didn't have the mako glow but there defiantly some fury behind them as they stared at each other.

It was strange to watch them stare at each other like that. He knew that they were _talking_ to each other, or at least they knew what each other were thinking. It must be a twin thing but it was really really freaky.

"I'll turn on the radio," Lore said and turned to the radio that was at the head of the bed. It was turned to some radio station that was playing elevator music. They couldn't at least pick a good radio station for him to die by. Errow's eyes fluttered but remained closed. Lore stoked the boy's silver hair.

She was still standing where she had slapped him. She was shaking as she stood there; her eyes fixed on her the boy in the bed. "The blood will be on my hands," she whispered.

Reno shuttered again and saw that Lore did the same.

Reno knew what would happen if her plan failed. He heard her talking about it. It was the type of thing that you heard about and wondered what the hell they were thinking. I mean, who would think that death was the way out. He could understand a little better, but he still didn't think it was solving the real problem. I may be ending the pain, and he knew that seeing that boy screaming every couple of hours was getting tiring and all.

He hoped that Tseng somehow got some sort of tracking device on her or something. He didn't like the option that she was actually thinking of taking.

She took off her spear and began to clean it. There was quite a bit of blood on it as well as her armoured arm. She removed her weaponry and then sat on the edge of the bed and stroked the back of the sleeping boy.

For a moment, she looked like a mother, not a crazy person who was out to kill everything around her, including her own family.

"I really wish you would reconsider," Lore whispered. He was standing by the radio still. Reno noticed that he was crying. "We can work through this."

"I have already made up my mind," she said. "It is the only way that we will have peace."

"Please, sis, can't you… sleep… just… reconsider…" he gasped and wiped the tears off his face as if he were mad at the fact that he was crying.

"He doesn't deserve the pain that he has," she said simply. "This is the only way that I can think of to stop the pain."

Lore scrubbed at his eyes again. She was removing her jacket and threw it aside.

"There is another way. We talked about that," Lore said.

"It is not an option!" she snapped.

"Just sleep on it," he pleaded. "You need too, think clear!"

_Think clear_. Yeah, he pretty much doubted that she could do that. She was insane and it was the only way he could think to describe your warped thought process. Lore himself had even said so.

"It will not change my mind." She said curtly.

Lore sighed.

She crawled in beside the boy and drew him close to her. The boy groaned in his sleep and she held him tighter. Lore stared at the two for awhile.

Reno frowned as he watched the young man start to cry again, silent tears that ran down his face. He moved to the chair that he bandaged her leg and sat.

He swallowed hard at the conversation that he just heard. He knew what it meant but didn't want to admit to what it was. It hurt to think that she was capable of that type of thought! He was pretty sure it was tearing apart Lore. He never thought anything like that would be so real and he was in the middle of it.

Lore was staring at him with his tear filled bloodshot eyes.

**

* * *

****Attempt to Allude**

**May 28 -- PM -- Bearnin**

* * *

Reno was nursing his wound and trying to catch his breath. He had lost his jacket and his phone and his weapon and whatever dignity he had left fleeing from that crazy Commander. He had to get to his emergency stash and fast.

She was insane! He held his side where she had pierced him with that knife of hers. It wasn't that deep of a cut but it hurt like hell! If he knew that he was just going to be kept a prisoner, he would have allowed it and waited for help to arrive, but she made it very clear that he was not going to get out of here alive. He was dead as soon as she got whatever information he got out of him was worth her while. He wasn't going to stick around for that.

He was getting back up down here right now and deal with this.

She was very protective of her son. That was obvious. He was pretty sure that there were some weird ass experiments that occurred to create that boy and she was the middle of it.

The burning left his lungs and he started to move forward, carefully to where he hid the emergency stash.

Some Militia leader, if she couldn't track him through her own woods! He chuckled to himself as he approached the area where he hit it. He moved the log …

…and all his stuff was gone!

"Shit…" he whispered

"Did you think it was that easy?"

Most terrifying voice he had ever heard in his life.

**

* * *

**

Glimmer of Hope

**June 17-- Unknown Location -- Unknown Time**

* * *

Lore got his composure back from the crying fit he had in the chair. It looked like he was having difficulty swallowing. He shakily pulled a small knife out of the sleeve of his arm. He stood from the chair and walked towards Reno. Reno closed his eyes and calmed down his rapidly beating heart.

He was certain that Lore was going to kill him. It would probably better than Lira killing him anyway. Hell, he thought he had a couple of more hours anyway. A couple of more hours in which he may be saved. It was a small hope, but he still had faith in his Turks to rescue him.

He still had faith that Tseng and Rude would hunt down where ever he was and save him, but watching Lore moving with that knife… maybe he thought that it would be best if he ends it all for them sooner. Maybe he was starting to think like his sister? Damn it all. He was scared and he couldn't even yell at anyone to make himself feel better!

He opened his eyes when he heard him shuffling past him, he squinted to see Lore cutting open a seam in his own backpack and pulling out a phone. What the hell was this? He was hiding a phone from his sister? He turned it on and it beeped its opening tune. He looked nervously over at his sleeping sister but it seemed that she was content in her slumber.

Lore sat down beside him. "What is Tseng's number?" he spoke in a whisper. His fingers were poised to press numbers. His blue eyes were looking at him in a calm manner. Was this part of his plan? What the hell?

Reno swallowed hard but couldn't say anything. No sounds would come out of his mouth. He wondered how much damage that she had done to his throat and if he would be able to talk again. "Show me the number on your fingers." Lore said and looked down at his hands.

Lore repeated the numbers as he showed them on his fingers and he dialled them. The feeling of hope had reached the glimmer stage man. He watched as Lore tiredly brought the phone to his ear. Lore patted him on the shoulder.

His voice was quite strong, "I need to speak to Tseng."

"He will want to speak to me." He cocked his head to one side and gave out an annoyed sigh.

"In regards to Lira."

His voice changed into a snarl. "How about Reno? Does that name strike cord? Thank you." Wow, Lore defiantly had some of his sister's fire in him. Reno was glad that the man didn't have the same problems as his sister. It was too bad; he was the more dominating one. All these problems would have been solved and he wouldn't be a crippled helpless Turk right now.

He looked on curiously. Wondering why he was calling Tseng after going through such efforts to make sure that they were hidden. What were his plans, really?

He seemed to be put on hold. He looked down at him with the sad blue eyes. "I love my sister. I do. But… I can't let her do what she is going to do. I know Errow is hurting, but I can't allow her to do this." There were tears coming to his eyes again.

"Yes. I am here." His voice sounding annoyed.

"He is still alive but won't be for much longer, if you are not tracing this phone." He rubbed his eyes to prevent the tears from coming again.

"Good, then I don't have to give you directions."

"I won't be able to stop her if she wakes up."

"No. You will have to trust me that he is still alive." He looked to Reno. "_Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul / Pride is lost / Wings stripped away, the end is nigh"_

Reno couldn't help but be freaked out when he quoted Loveless. It was so weird and he didn't know what the hell those lines meant anyway. Did it even fit in the conversation that was happening here! He hated that damn play or poem or whatever the hell it was. He never wanted to hear a line from it again! Of course, he really didn't want that thought right now though.

"It is no trap. I will not fight. Lira will when she is awakened though, so you better send someone that could handle her. I will do my best to control her, but as you know, Tseng, she is not that easy to control."

He pulled the phone away from his ear; leaving it on and placing it back in the bag. He went back to his chair and stared at the door.

…tbc….

* * *

….next chapters….** Initial Questioning & Cloud**

_I hope I have your interest. I have a lot of faves and alerts with this little tale so I will continue. _


	6. Initial Questioning & Cloud

**Left Behind**

**

* * *

****Initial Questioning**

**May 29--PM--Bearnin**

* * *

Reno shivered.

He was naked in the cold cell. Hell, they had not even given him a blanket for the bare cot. The men in the Militia group had followed her orders to the letter. "Strip him, make sure he is not hiding anything, and throw him in the basement."

And that is what the creeps did. He was barely conscious when they strip him and gave him a none-to-pleasant search and then threw him into the basement, which is the lockdown cell that he was currently shivering in.

Well he was awake now.

Damn cold cell too!

Damn cold and feeling very naked! So, if she wanted to see him naked he wasn't going to hide. He was so close to getting the message out and there she had stood with a smug grin on her face as he was promptly knocked unconscious and treated like a common criminal. How the hell she tracked him was beyond him. Damn it. She was good. He underestimated her and now he was paying the price. He wasn't going to let his pride get in the way though. Just because he was naked, he wasn't going to make their lives miserable too!

It was the second in command that came down first. He was hoping that it would be her. Reno stood and tried not to shiver, but he swore that his skin was turning blue. Lore looked at him with a sad smile on his face. He had to keep his pride!

But damn, he really didn't like the way the guy was looking at him.

"What the hell, yo? I wasn't doing anything wrong!" He snapped and tried not to shiver. It was pretty hard to act all tough when you were naked and shivering.

Lore just shook his head. "It doesn't really matter. You are a Turk. Turks work for ShinRa. Therefore, you are a threat." Lore went to a cabinet that was across from his cell and pulled out a couple bottles of water and then placed them by the cage. Hell, cold water wasn't going to do him any good. He needed something warm. Can't he see that he was shivering?

"Did you really think you could get away from her?" Lore chuckled and gave him a good look up and down. Okay. Yeah. Really didn't like the way the guy was looking at him.

"Yeah, well, I am a Turk." He shrugged and tried really hard not to let that look bother him.

Lore laughed lightly. "She can beat a FIRST who was trying to get her sunglasses off, you do not have a chance, and that was when she was a kid. Do you really think you stand a chance now?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he said. She beat a FIRST? Only other SOLDIERS beat SOLDIERS in battle. She was not a SOLDIER so what the hell and he asked the question too. Hell! A FIRST? Was he talking about Sephiroth? He could see that she beat him alright, but it sure didn't look like it was a battle! What the hell is the deal with her sunglasses anyway? Why the hell did a SOLDIER want them removed so badly that it leads to a fight? Man, he felt like he was hooped. It looked like they knew more information than he did and that was not a good situation to be in.

"You really should have read that report that Tseng sent with you. She is not to be messed with." Lore said. "And quite temperamental too."

"Yeah, yeah, I get that? Which SOLDIER did she beat?" He didn't know if the answer really mattered. Hell, a SOLDIER. He had never even beat a SOLDIER, or even a wannabe SOLDIER.

Lore shrugged his shoulders, "It wasn't Sephiroth, if that is what you are thinking. She is strong, but I don't think she could have ever battled him in that way. She had to prove herself as a match for them and she proved herself to them. I don't know why Tseng would just send one Turk. He knows how she is." Lore scratched his chin and looked at him with his head tilted. The last part of the conversation was like he was talking to himself. Lore was staring at him again.

Reno refrained from shuttering and from wanting to cover himself. The way that Lore was looking at him reminded him of how he looked at the ladies that swung around the pole at the Bumblebee lounge.

"Hell, I was just here to report, not fight anyone," he frowned. "I mean, ShinRa is not the same organization as it was before."

"Really? Are you sure that is why Tseng sent you here?" Lore asked. Reno pressed his lips firmly together. "As I thought. ShinRa may not be the same as it was before, but it has so much of its past in things that you most likely don't even know."

Lore sighed and looked at him. Reno didn't much care for the look that he was getting from him. He was feeling really exposed right now. Really exposed but he wasn't about to let the guy know that he was feeling that way.

"I would like very much to believe that Tseng sent you here, as you say, for just information. But that still does not mean that we want ShinRa to come back this way." Lore said. "Really, Turk, you should answer honestly. I am much gentler at asking the questions than my sister. I am a bit saner that she is."

"No kidding and I have a name. It is Reno." He snorted.

"Yes, we already discovered that," Lore said and crossed his arms. "We searched your room and found all the evidence we need to declare you a Turk. I did not doubt that once you gave sis the slip. She knew where you were going though. She had her eye on you the moment you opened that cell phone of yours. You have a pretty fancy one for an accountant at a rinky-dink delivery company. She did note that you took a picture. Oh, and the phone has been _disabled_ so that you will not be traced back here, or where we plan on moving you. Now, why are you here?"

"I was just on surveillance and all. I didn't have a target." He said.

"That is a lie," Lore whispered. "I found a picture of sis, when she was young. A picture form when ShinRa visited this town with the SOLDIERS." He pulled the picture out of his back pocket. "She was just sixteen/seventeen then and she did have some trust in ShinRa at that time, you understand. We all wanted the war to end and being close to the border of Wutaii, we were willing to aid them in finding a way to end the war. They left, the war ended. ShinRa came back after the war, but that is when Errow was threatened and ShinRa was no longer and is no longer welcome here."

"Errow? That kid that looks like a mini-Sephiroth?" Reno asked.

"Yes, Lira sees you a threat to her son." Lore said and ran his hand through his dark hair. He just realized that the guy was not wearing the full uniform anymore. He had taken off the jacket and was just wearing a muscle shirt. The guy was ripped and why wasn't he affected by the cold like him. If anything, he looked a little flushed. Cold blooded mountain people!

He tried to remain on focus. "Lira sees me as a threat to him. What the hell would I want to hurt a kid for?"

"Yes indeed. Why would people from ShinRa want to hurt him? They have done it before. Is that's why Tseng sent you?" Lore looked from his computer and started at him intently. Man, those dark blue eyes of his were intense. He really wanted out of here. If he was so intense, how intense would Lira be? He didn't want to find out.

Reno stood there, feeling very naked and confused. "Lira sees me as a threat? What about you?" he asked.

"It really doesn't matter what I think. She is the commander and what she thinks goes." He said. "And she is my sister."

"Suck's to be you." Reno muttered.

Lore gave a light chuckle that made him shiver, "She would have let you go, if you had not targeted Errow, you know, of course, after a conversation. That is not going to happen now."

Reno shook his head. His hair was loose; they had even taken his elastic away. "I wouldn't target a kid. Okay, so she was the target, all I was supposed to do was report on her and the town. That's all I knew. Okay. Seeing a mini-Sephiroth was not on my list. I knew nothing about the kid! I saw nothing of that in the report!"

Lore frowned a bit and rested his chin his hands as he stood there. "Did Tseng even know of Errow? Did he just leave that piece of information out?" he whispered.

"How the hell am I supposed to know that?" Reno said. He was getting very irritated and he could no longer control his shivering. The room was so very cold. Lore wasn't bothered by the cold! He refrained from letting out a barrage of curses. Curses about the cold and curses about the information that Tseng left out of that report. Hell, if Tseng knew about the kid, he wished that he had said something to him. He would have brought Rude or someone along with him. He needed to get backup for this. Tseng wouldn't have sent him in that blind.

"Would he purposely leave that out?" Lore mimicked his thoughts with the question. Lore then looked at him with his intense blue eyes. "A few member of ShinRa knew about him and they came, after Sephiroth's first announced death, to investigate. There were no Turks in that group, but a few SOLDIERS that remained and a bunch of those pesky lab rats." Lore said. "And Tseng, the head of the Turks, knew nothing of this?"

"I don't know!" Reno said and tried to stop his teeth from chattering. "Hell, I am pretty sure that if we knew about the kid, we would have been here sooner."

Lore sighed and walked back to the cupboard. There seemed to be a computer in there. There was the sound of clicking keys.

"That is the reason why we have made sure that Errow was not to fall under ShinRa's influence again, if they have the same motivations as they do in the past. Both my sister and Sephiroth would have wished it that way, I believe."

"Pfft. Whatever. Listen, we don't work for that Jack anymore okay. We work for Rufus and we are trying to mend all the damage that…" he stopped talking as Lore raised his hand to him.

"All that doesn't really matter. The past is remembered strongly here. The last group that came was still under the rule of that Jack ShinRa. I realized this was before the meteor fall incident and your precious Rufus may not have been aware of what some of the scientists were doing at the time, but the trust was lost when Hojo tried to take Errow away from us."

"Hojo?" he gasped. He remembered that crazy scientist. Scared the hell out of him on numerous occasions with that creepy laugh of his and after all the dealing with the whole Underground thing. "Well, Hojo is dead now." He said simply. "Finished off."

"And what would the doctors want to do if they saw _mini-Sephiroth_?" Lore asked. "I believe they call themselves the WRO, now. I am afraid that I don't see them much different from the group of mad scientists that you had before. I believe many are the same." Lore tapped at the computer in the cupboard. "I believe that some of them are exactly the same ones that even worked under Hojo. We need to ensure that those past mistakes will not be made again with Errow. He will not be harmed. He is enough pain, he doesn't need any more pain."

Reno narrowed his eyes at the man. Okay, so the backwater attitude was just a ruse. Lore knew his stuff alright and seemed to have good reasons for suspicion.

"Listen, man, things were really screwed up in the past, yo," Reno said. "You can't hold a grudge forever! I mean, did Sephiroth even know about the kid?"

Lore rubbed his forehead and looked away from him. "Yes, that is why Hojo knew. It must have been noted somewhere, and after his death, we had your mad scientist arrive." Lore said and clicked on the computer in the cupboard.

"Well, he certainly didn't making it part of his working knowledge," Reno said.

"I know that he did not." Lore sighed and shook his head. "Now, we have gotten off tract. I am the one that should be asking he questions of you," Lore said and looked at him with a smile. "How long were you supposed to be here? Investigating?"

"I don't know if I feel much like cooperating. I am freezing to death here!" he snapped and allowed himself to hug himself now. Yeah, his fingers were quite blue and weren't giving him any warmth in the self hug.

"I noticed," Lore muttered and looked at him very inappropriately. Reno wanted to curl up on the bed and hide as much of himself as possible. "It will warm up soon," Lore said. "I suggest you answer my questions. I have already warned you that, I am much gentler when it comes to questions, than my sister. And since you threatened her son, she may have no mercy on you at all."

"I didn't threaten the kid!" He yelled.

"You place listening devices in the Medical room where he was staying. That, my red headed friend, is considered a threat." Lore said. "Now, answer the questions. Truthfully please."

**

* * *

Cloud**

**June 17 -- PM -- 7****th**** Heaven**

* * *

Cloud frowned. There was a car blocking his driveway and he recognized the big black man get out of the passenger side and then stands there like a road block. He really did not want to deal with Turks right now especially those two. He had a delivery to make and he wanted to get home at a reasonable hour.

"What do you want?" He said as he sat astride his motorcycle. He positioned his goggles over his eyes. He was going to make this conversation quick. If Rude was here that pesky red head was here and that always meant trouble. He had enough trouble in his life time.

Rude pushed his glasses back up on his nose. "We need your muscle."

Cloud laughed. They needed _his _muscle? The Turks. He thought he was done dealing with ShinRa and there trying to patch up the world that they destroyed. "We? I don't see the red rat anywhere?" He couldn't see inside the tinted windows. It wasn't like Reno to keep his mouth shut and not throw a couple of insults at him or try to sway him to join ShinRa in helping the world recover, crap.

"That is exactly the problem."

Tseng exited the car. Tseng. He was no normally the one that even left the command of his office. He was the one that pulled the strings. Cloud knew that all to well. If Tseng was here, this was bad news and he wanted nothing to do with it. Tseng did not leave his office unless it was a bad situation.

"I have a deliver to make," he said and adjusted his goggles and revving his bike. He really didn't want to get involved with them again. It was never good news. Never.

"Cloud, we need your assistance in acquiring a target," Tseng said. "We are afraid that we may not be able to acquire target without your assistance." His voice was calm. Was that a black eye that he was sporting? It looked like it was pretty new too. One of his hands was even bandaged up and… was his suit rumpled. Okay, he really wanted to drive his bike over the car and tell them to deal with their own mess.

"What make you think that I want to help you?" he grumbled. "I have no reason to want to help you."

"Reno is the hostage." Rude said simply. He looked at the big man. He was still standing there with his arms crossed but his hands were in fists.

"Good riddance." He mumbled. Reno was such a pest at times, but…

He watched Rude tense and even a frown came across his face. He didn't want to get dragged into anything like this again. He had enough of this Hero crap and he just wanted to do his job and take care of his family! Damn it! They kept dragging him back in! He had his childhood dream of being a Hero and realized that it sucked and he wanted to live a normal life, but it was not destined to be, as he kept getting dragged back into trouble.

"Cloud, you do not understand the gravity of this situation." Tseng said. "It is something that is beyond our ability to handle. We need to ensure that this retrieval is a success and we need you to make sure that it happens."

Cloud shook his head. "I don't want to be dragged back into ShinRa or the WRO going on. I am just trying to make an honest living here." He revved his bike again for emphasis. If they didn't get out of the way soon, he was going to drive over their car.

"We are not strong enough to get him back without you." Tseng said. Rude nodded.

Cloud felt like he was going to throw up. "What the hell did you guys dig up this time? What monster had you been hiding now?"

Tseng sighed. "It is more like something that got left behind."

Cloud fought the ever increasing urge to ride his motorcycle over the car, make the delivery and never been seen again by the crazy Turks.

"I have Reeve already assisting us in making sure that our medical needs will be met," Tseng said in a reserved tone. "We need to ensure that she will…"

"What the hell? Medical needs?" Cloud yelled. "Why the hell can't the Turks handle this? Damn it! What the hell type of monster are we dealing with here?"

Tseng sighed and rubbed his bruised eye with his bandaged hand. "A woman scorned."

- - - tbc - - -

* * *

Next Chapters…..Breaking & On their way


	7. Breaking & On their way

**LEFT BEHIND**

* * *

**Breaking**

**June 17 --- Unknown Location – Unknown Time**

* * *

Reno was tired and sore. Not just physically, but mentally as well. The little bit of painkiller that he was given had worn off and he was in so much more pain now. His mind wouldn't stop working and thinking about what she planned to do.

It was getting all too much.

Lore had stopped staring at him and was fiddling with something in his hand. He was staring intently at the still form of his sister and her son on the small bed. He had a deep frown on his face.

Reno let out a low moan that he didn't mean too. His arms were so numb were burning. He felt warm and he knew that he had a fever again. He swallowed and it hurt so much as he did so.

Lore looked at him again. "It will be over soon."

It was not comforting thing to hear. _It will be over soon._ If he had his voice he would have said, "No thanks. I will rather live," or maybe something a mite bit wittier. He didn't fell all that witty right now.

Lore looked back at his sister. "For us all." He twirled something in his fingers and Reno couldn't see what it was. It wasn't the knife that he had earlier, that was still resting on the duffel where the phone rested, inside. "It will be better for us all, to get this all over with."

Reno shuttered. It hurt to move. It hurt to think. Everything hurt. Reno was pretty sure he was breaking. That little bit of freedom that he had of pain and now the rush of it returning to him was almost too much to bear. His throat burned as he swallowed hard again and tried so hard not to cry. He didn't want to cry. He didn't want to be a baby but there was only so much a person could handle.

It had been so long since he made that phone call, why hadn't they come yet? Why hadn't they burst through the door and saved him yet? He felt the tears going down his face and he didn't want to cry.

Damn it, he wanted to be rescued!

This is not the way he wanted to die!

The tears blinded him as he gasped for breath.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he gasped and tried to move. Mistake. It hurt too much to move. A smooth cloth rubbed over his face, wiping his eyes and cheeks. Lore was looking at him with a soft smile. "Do you need something more for the pain?" he asked.

He nodded.

He was beginning to like Lore. He knew it was probably that stupid psychosis where you start sympathizing with your captors, Stockholm syndrome. He was pretty sure he had that right now, at least toward Lore. The guy may have a Loveless fetish and all, but he had treated him well through his whole incarceration. It was Lira that kept inflicting him with pain and making him sick, nearly bleeding him to death and, the final humiliation, cutting off his hair.

Lore went to the bag again. He was tucked what he was fiddling with in a pouch that was on the arm of his jacket. Reno didn't see what it was again but was grateful to see a potion be brought out of the bag.

"One left," Lore said and shook the bottle. Reno panted. He wanted that bottle. He never wanted a bottle of the awful tasting potion in his life. He knew it was supposed to be for the kid, but the kid had stronger stuff than that to deal with his pain.

Lore opened the bottle and put his hand under his chin. "Drink slow, or you will make yourself sick," Lore said as he put the bottle to his lips.

Reno cried even more as he drank the potion and some of the pain in his throat dissipated to a tolerable thrum of pain.

"Better?"

He nodded. Yeah. It was a little more tolerable now.

A little.

But he still was crying and Lore was wiping the tears off his cheeks again. "Drink a little more," Lore whispered and the bottle was brought to his lips again. "It will be over soon."

Those words again. It was hardly comforting and the bit of poetry that he spouted only made him cry even more.

_Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul  
Pride is lost  
Wings stripped away, the end is nigh_

That creepy horrible poem but for once, the words meant something to him. For once he understood what it meant for him and it was not the most pleasant thing to have rambling about his brain.

Lore ran his fingers through his hair. He was trying to be comforting and Reno found that he did appreciate the small bit of comfort.

Yep. He was pretty sure that he had that Stockholm syndrome thing. He was pretty damn sure of it now.

"You are being too soft on him."

He closed his eyes as the hand was removed from his hair. Lira was awake.

_The end was nigh._

_

* * *

_**On there way**

**June 17 --- 7****th**** Heaven --- PM**

* * *

Tseng opened the door to let Cloud get into his car.

"I'll take my bike, thank you," he said. He watched as he opened up the sword compartments of his bike and seemed to select a few blades and then put them together before placing them on his back.

Tseng wondered where he got those blades.

"I can explain to you what we are facing on the way if you join us." Tseng said simply. "You must understand what we are facing."

Cloud frowned as he clicked another sword together. How many combinations could he do with those blades? How many swords did you need anyway?

"I don't like the idea of being in the car with you." Cloud said stiffly as he still straddled his bike. "Just tell me what I need to know and I will meet you there.

"It will be easier to explain this way. Shall we," Tseng said. "It is complicated."

Cloud frowned at him and seemed to be thinking about it. Tseng didn't blame him for the mistrust. He had done nothing to earn it from the man. There had been so much deceit in the past it was hard to get past. He just hoped that Cloud would turn off his motorcycle and come with them.

He was relieved when Cloud turned off his bike and dismounted. He had a sword on his back and a smaller sword in his hand. He was still frowining heavily as he walked to the car.

"Don't make me regret this decision," Cloud said as he sat in the car. Tseng closed he door behind him.

Tseng looked at his phone where they were tracking the phone still. It hadn't moved and he hoped that they were still there. It was quickly approaching the deadline that she set when she was twisting his arm behind his back. A last chance to save Reno. He walked around the drivers side and sat behind he wheel. Rude sat in the back seat. Cloud had both swords in the front seat with him and the were cutting the uplostery of the leather seat.

Tseng did not comment on it though.

"How much time do we got?" Cloud said as he adjusted his swords against his legs, tearing up more of the seat. Tseng cringed and kept his mouth shut about the swords ruining his car. He had other things to worry about.

"Ten," Rude said from the back.

"Don't have much time, do we? Aren't we cutting it a little close?" Cloud said as he looked at his phone.

"That is why, we must hurry," Tseng said and started to drive closer to the single that they were tracking.

* * *

Tbc

Next chapter…..loveless


	8. Loveless

**LEFT BEHIND**

* * *

**LOVELESS**

**May 30--PM--Bearnin**

* * *

_When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end_

_The goddess descends from the sky_

_Wings of light and dark spread afar_

_She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting_

"Will you quit babbling that stupid poem? You sound like a crazy person!" Reno said as he shivered huddled under a blanket at last.

"Oh, I quite like the poem," Lore said. "It speaks to me on so many levels," he whispered.

"I mean, what the hell is that supposed to mean anyway? _Wings of light and dark_… yo, it is all babble to me," Reno cussed and grumbled

_Wings of light and dark spread afar_

_She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting_

"Damn it. I don't know what any of it means! Is this your idea of torture? You guys already squeezed every bit of information that I know out of me, why are you torturing me with that piece of poetry now?" Reno whined and he didn't care how he sounded. He was tired. He was hungry. He was cold. He was hurt. He was pining for a nice good rye and coke. Hell, a damn whiff of some second hand smoke would even hit the spot right now. He was tired of being a prisoner. And most of all, he didn't want to hear anymore of that Loveless crap!

"The wings of light and dark are the opposing forces of good and evil and how they spread across the land, even overlapping," Lore said. "Creating the shades of grey."

Reno frowned as he looked at Lore who was sitting looking quite comfortable in a warm looking chair with his feet pressed against the bars. He didn't need to have things analyzed for him. He didn't care! He was not an English major and as far as he was concerned. Loveless, was a peace of crap.

"Like ShinRa's grasp on the control of the planet. Its wings, I would say, are dark, and the life stream would be an example of the light and they are in constant conflict."

"Great, are you planning on killing me with this, because I think you are." Reno muttered. He liked it when they were asking him questions.

_Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess _

_We seek it thus, and take it to the sky_

_Ripples form on the water's surface_

_The wandering soul knows no rest_

Reno cringed as he flipped the page of his book. A book that looked old and worn and as if he had read it many times. He was pretty sure that this was the way that he tortured people now. He would take her cutting him with a knife anytime over this poetry crap.

"The world is full of mystery, and the goddess can give us the answers," Lore said.

"Oh, that clarifies everything," Reno mumbled. His head was starting to hurt.

Lore was unfazed by his comments. He continued on. "We seek the sky for our spiritual comfort, for that is where we see her, someone who could be so magnificent should be. We wish to join her in the sky."

"It would be better than here," Reno mumbled.

"But we can't get to her that way," Lore said as he flipped the page. "We are become part of the Gaia, the life stream and those that do not or cannot be accepted into the life stream, are forced to ripple the surface and wander, unaccepted by the true goddess."

"Wonderful," Reno muttered. "I get to live forever as a miserable as I am now. Great."

_There is no hate, only joy_

_For you are beloved by the goddess_

_Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds_

Reno began to tap his head against the wall trying to drown out the pathetic poetry.

"The goddess accepts all into her arms. Accepts all that are for the planet. Accepts those that will heal her and help heal with her." Lore continued oblivious to Reno hitting his head against the wall. "But there is a threat in this statement. What if you hurt her? What if you are tainted? Hum? Where do you go then, if you are not a hero of the dawn or a Healer of the worlds? You are not accepted by the goddess and therefore, you are forbidden to a life of hell."

"Sounds like where I am here now," Reno mumbled. "Pretty sure, that is where I am now. Yeah. Sounds like I am in hell."

_Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul_

_Pride is lost_

_Wings stripped away, the end is nigh_

Lore adjusted his feet on the bars. His bare feet on the cold bars. Damn cold blooded mountain people! How could he stand how cold he was under his clothes and the thick blankets he offered and he was putting his bare feet against the cold bars, like it was nothing.

"The shattered soul. Stripped off all that they were. Stripped of pride, stripped of what is right or wrong as the time of death approaches…

"I hope it is soon," Reno interjected.

"…you are laid bare. A shattered soul that can only dream of what the morning can bring or is it what the morning can bring to the shattered soul. Maybe a peace can be found either way, once the truth is found hidden beneath those wings."

"I could go for some wings. Hot and spicy ones with a nice cold beer about now," Reno stopped hitting his head against the wall and just rested it against the cold stone. Damn. This talk of wings was making him hungry.

Lore made a disapproving noise, but it didn't stop him from continuing his painful analysis.

_My friend, do you fly away now?_

_To a world that abhors you and I?_

_All that awaits you is a somber morrow_

_No matter where the winds may blow_

"Where would you go, if all around you hate you?" Lore said in a somber tone. "How sad would it be to wake up in the morning and no direction but to follow bur the direction of the wind? Always on the run, even when you do have a friend still waiting for you."

Reno was still thinking of the thought of wings when Lore slammed the book closed and startled him.

"There is always a chance," Lore said. "A world may hate you, but there still will be places where you can be accepted, don't you think?"

"Whatever," Reno mumbled.

Lore snorted. "You just wouldn't understand that, would you, Turk?"

"Don't get the poetry crap, yo." Reno said.

Lore actually sneered at him. For a moment, he looked very much like her sister. It was a little creepy.

_My friend, your desire_

_Is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess_

_Even if the morrow is barren of promises_

_Nothing shall forestall my return_

"Well! What do you think of that?"

Reno blinked. Was he serious! What the hell was he supposed to think of that? He didn't what to even think of that. "Yo, Loveless was not on my reading list, back when I was in school and I cheated off the cute girls in Literature class."

Lore look really annoyed. Reno found that he didn't really care.

"It is saying that the desires do not change. They were always there. There is an ebb and flow but the desires remain and they return!" Lore snapped.

"Whatever. I thought it was about the dead rising from the grave and all." Reno said. Lore was glaring at him pretty good now. Okay. He had to learn to keep his mouth shut. He was pissing off the one guy that was keeping him alive right now but the poetry and lack of sleep were seriously addling his mind.

Lore opened the book again.

He groaned.

_My friend, the fates are cruel_

_There are no dreams, no honor remains_

_The arrow has left the bow of the goddess_

Lore went back to his recline and relaxed posed as he read the passage. He was defiantly determined to torture him with the terrible piece of poetry and Reno was pretty sure that it was going to be the death of him, in one form or another.

"Being stripped bare, being exposed; having nothing left to hide your true self, the self that you hide from the world can be cruel and painful. Because even then, the goddess can reject you and turn her weapon on you. The ones you love can hurt you, even in your times of need and the times where you need more than anything to be loved."

"Sappy," Reno moaned. "pft, what a bunch of…"

"What are you about to say, Turk?' Lore said in a strange and stern tone. Yeah, his sister was crazy about, well pretty much everything, and here Lore was a bit mad about Loveless.

"Nothin'," Reno whispered.

__

My soul, corrupted by vengeance

Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey

In my own salvation

And your eternal slumber

Lore seemed to be taking a few deep breaths. "_find the end of the journey_, the sweet release of death, the _eternal slumber_ to reach _salvation."_

Reno wanted to start beating his head against the wall again and he wisely kept his mouth shut. This passage obviously was important to him and he was supposed to understand what the hell was saying. Hell, he would rather be reading the ShinRa human recourses policy rather than listening to this. At least the words would make sense!

__

_Legend shall speak_

_Of sacrifice at world's end_

_The wind sails over the water's surface_

_Quietly, but surely_

"Even at the end, there will be still those that suffer, even if they were to sacrifice themselves, and did most surely they did. Sacrifice is always necessary when one is to pass on and to move forward, but the suffering is still strong enough to stir the water's surface."

"Just skipping stones, dude," Reno chuckled. "That is the best way to disturb the surface and there is no suffering involved in it" He was pretty sure that was the last part of the damn poem. Hopefully he would close the damn book and leave him in his misery before his next questioning session with Lira began.

Lore gave him a deeper frown but flipped another page in that damn poetry book.

_Even if the morrow is barren of promises_

_Nothing shall forestall my return_

_To become the dew that quenches the land_

_To spare the sands, the seas, the skies_

_I offer thee this silent sacrifice_

Now, Reno was no expert on Loveless, but he was not familiar with that quote. He was also pretty sure that he missed a few quotes along the way as well, but hell, he was no expert and he really didn't care.

Lore sighed and read the stupid passage again. Man, it was really grating on his nerves.

"_silent sacrifice" _Lore whispered. "People shouldn't have to suffer so and …, there is always some promise at ever return? Isn't there?"

Reno didn't answer. He was pretty sure that question wasn't even directed at him. Lore sighed heavily and stood from his comfy chair. And without another word, poetry or otherwise, he left him alone.

Alone, with the damn Loveless poem rattling in his head.

He let out a string of curses and he pulled the blanket tighter around him. "Damn crazy people," he yelled.

Listening to that damn poem being analyzed was one thing, but now it was stuck in his head. It was worst than any song being stuck in his head because now he was trying to remember the missed passages. He had to listen to Genesis spout off at one time with his small stupid poem book and his interpretations of the passages, which were strikingly different…

"Damn it!" he screamed into the room.

He preferred being whipped, stabbed or beaten over having the poetry stuck in his head.

* * *

tbc

NC… Surrounded & Torture


	9. Surrounded, Torture & Crash

LEFT BEHIND

* * *

**Surrounded**

**June 17**** --- ****Slums**** --- 9:55 PM**

* * *

"Reeve?"

"Cloud! You agreed to help." Damn guy was smiling way too much. It looked like a small military operation out here and again he wondered why the hell they needed him here.

"Yeah. What the hell, is she a fucking army?" Cloud said as he looked at the group of men and women. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he watched _boys_ ready weapons. He felt edgy and frustrated. There was a whole military operation that was right in front of him and they dragged him into a situation that he doubted he needed to be in!

"I understand that she is quite a fire cracker," Reeve said with a smile. "Here's your earpiece."

Cloud took the piece of plastic and placed it in his ears. "We are just about to start." Cloud took his sword out of his sheath and separated it again. He grinned as he cleared some leather out of a joint. Yeah, he wasn't sorry for ruining those leather seats. He knew it was petty kind of payback at the Turks, but he was going to take what he could get.

He did not like this situation at all.

Reeve cleared his throat and his familiar voice came ringing into his ear. He kept expecting to see that annoying mechanical cat come forward at any time. As much as Reeve would deny it, the voice of the cat was not that dissimilar. He began to address everyone over the radios they all wore. He could see everyone turn their heads a little into the ear piece or put their hand up to press it up to their ear. "We have positively identified this location. It is the house with the tazed door. Check your tracking devices to confirm the location." He watched as people looked at their phones and then at the door with the red laser x marked on it. A few people lowered their tinted glasses. He could see the laser mark just fine and didn't pull out his PHS to confirm the target door.

Reeve continued. "There are 4 people in there and from the signatures, they are as we suspect. They were not moving for quite awhile but there is activity again. We should move fast. There is only 5 more minutes left before the deadline." Reeves voice spoke over a small radio, and his voice became smaller. "Cloud, you will be the first entry into the place and you will handle her if it comes down to it. Clear."

"Clear like mud," he muttered.

Tseng filled him in, but he had a feeling that they were leaving some important information about this woman that had taken Reno hostage. Tseng said something about her being on the same level as a FIRST. Something about getting a bit of mako poisoning as a kid and it twisted her a bit. Cloud had questioned him on how mako poisoning could raise a person's strength like that. He knew that there had to be more than just mako to make a person strong. He knew that the poisoning didn't make you strong if that is all you had, there was more to the mako showers the SOLDIERS used to get. Nearly drowning in it, could make you weaker and an addict to various types of drugs. If it was just mako, all those druggies on the streets would be a hell of a handful to deal with. No matter what the ShinRa said. He knew from first hand experience that it wasn't just the mako to get like how he was.

He didn't like how Tseng changed the subject on that one by showing him the pictures of the woman and a man. "Lira and Lore," Tseng said. "You will not have to worry too much about Lore. He is the reason that we are here. He realized his sister is quite insane and that she needs help."

"So, am I here to kill her or to put her in the hospital?" He growled. "I really don't understand why all of you can't handle a single girl."

Reeve looked over at Tseng. "She is the reason that Tseng has a black eye, there is a hole in the newly decorated building and 5 Turks are still lying in hospital after being hit with Cure materia. She is deadly, as simple as that. We do not want to underestimate her again."

He sighed heavily. He understood that she was the one that had damaged Tseng. He understood that she somehow had mako enhanced strength. He understood that she had a military mind. She was strong and the leader of a militia group, but he had sensed that Tseng was hiding some critical information. Tseng was a Turk and information was what they coveted. If people got hurt because he was leaving stuff out…

"We move in two," Reeve said as he rubbed his beard.

Cloud shook his head. He would rather see him as a mechanical cat. It suited his voice better anyway. Reeve still unnerved him at times.

**

* * *

**

Torture

**June 10 -- Noon -- Bearnin**

* * *

"You still haven't answered my questions."

Reno couldn't help but sob. It had been nothing but torture! He could barely see anymore and his voice was nearly ruined from cursing at her nearly the whole time. He doubted that he slept much. She didn't seem to sleep much and enjoyed the torture that she was inflicting. She seemed to be enjoying it, too!

"I don't … don't know the answers."

And he didn't. She was asking questions about stuff that he didn't have a clue about.

He really didn't know why Tseng sent him. He could guess but he wasn't told anything. He told her all that he knew about Sephiroth's death, all three of them. He told her everything that she wanted. They were all stupid questions.

"How did he die?"

"How did Genesis die?"

"Who killed Genesis?"

"Is this Zack dead?"

"Who killed Sephiroth?"

Nothing seemed to sate her appetite to cause him pain. He answered what he could.

"How did he come back?"

"I don't know." He would whisper a stammer and she would do something to hurt him. Today, she seemed to be enjoying cutting his legs. He whimpered every time she drew the knife over his thigh, or bent over and cut his calf. He didn't scream anymore. If he screamed, she would choke him. His throat hurt so much as it was, he didn't want her to hurt it anymore.

"Lira!"

Lore was at the door along with another man that looked like and older version of Lore. For a minute he thought he was seeing double. He was used to seeing her brother Lore come in and usually pulled her away from torturing him. This guy, looked like he could be their father.

"Yes?" she said and turned those cool eyes towards the men.

The older man looked startled and he didn't blame him. There was a pool of blood that surrounded his chair and she had stripped him again. She didn't want to get his clothes dirty. He had said that he didn't know to a lot of her questions today. He was surprised that he had not bled to death from her attentions. She had started asking him questions that he didn't even understand.

"What is the survival rate with exposure?"

"What other cells are there?"

"Are there any other projects?"

"Where is Sephiroth's body?"

He didn't have a clue what any of that meant or how to answer. He would eventually mutter the "I don't know." And she would cut him again.

"Errow is calling for you." The older man said. "Mother is with him right now. Come on now, before you kill him." His voice was a little shaken as he looked over to his son, who put a hand on his arm. Lore whispered something and the man just shook his head and looked back at his daughter.

She stood up and left. He whimpered. He wanted to yell and scream at her for leaving him in so much pain. But yelling and screaming hurt more, so he didn't. She handed the knife to her brother who frowned at her as she left his basement prison.

Lore was the one that came into the cell untied him and started to fix his wounds. He gave him a potion and helped him drink it before he started to bandage his legs. Helped him get dressed again and tucked him back under the heavy blankets.

He hated being treated like an invalid and he hated how he would just let Lore dress him and take care of him. Hell, he left the door open. He could run… but to where, was the part that stopped him every time. He was hurting so bad now; he didn't want to make it worse. How long had it been? They had to be missing him by now. He hadn't sent his second report. They knew where he was, and they had to be looking for him. Right? Right?

He sighed. He had to learn to be a little more diligent in his work. He knew that he wouldn't be missed that much for at least two weeks. He would be on time with his reports if he lived through this. He would never be late with a piece of paper every again!

"You should tell her what you know. It would be easier." Lore said.

"I… I have told you all that I know." He gaped. He couldn't speak higher than a whisper anymore. She had hurt his throat yesterday by nearly chocking him to death before Lore stopped her. It still hurt.

"Make something up then!" he said. "I can only control her madness so much," Lore said.

"But… but…," he stammered. "If I lie, it hurts more," he whimpered as Lore was smoothing the blanket around him.

Lore sighed heavily and looked down at him. Reno shuttered and tried to curl into a tighter ball.

"I am really sorry, but things must go this way," Lore said and ran his hand through his own hair. "It may be the only way that we can save both Errow and Lira."

Reno just looked up at him and knew better than to try to talk to him about his stupid plan anymore. He was just a pawn and pawns were not listened to.

Lore shook his head. "I will bring you some food. I will try to keep her away from you for now. Errow is quite ill as of late, and if I can convince her that we should take her to the doctors that know something…" his voice trailed. "I will be back."

Reno watched him go, closing the door of his cage behind him.

It took a lot of effort not to break. He was supposed to be a Turk. He was not supposed to break that easily. He was trained to handle being captured and interrogated and being strong through the whole thing.

She knew exactly what to do to make him talk and how to hurt him.

He felt like a failure as a Turk.

Lore returned with the food. A simple sandwich and soup.

Lore smiled at him. "Eat up," he said as he placed it beside him on the bed. Reno nodded and shakily tried to pick up the sandwich even though he wasn't hungry. He found that his wrists and fingers weren't following his orders. He could still see the deep indents from the ropes that she had tied him with. It almost _hurt_ to move his fingers.

"Here. Let me help you," Lore said and picked up the sandwich. "You need to keep your strength up."

He took a bite and talked with the food in his mouth. Yeah, his mother taught him better, but manners didn't mean anything when there still was a pool of your own blood in your jail cell. "Why? So you can let your sister kill me?"

Lore sighed. "It is not that simple. I won't let her kill you. She will realize that she is wrong in doing this. Unfortunately, it may take awhile, but I won't let her kill you."

He took another bite of the sandwich offered to him. "Then why do you let her torture me?" he said.

"You have information, no matter how little you think you have. She knows that Sephiroth is dead. But there have been sightings as well as there have been sightings of silver haired men. I believe when we searched, there were pictures of you fighting some of them as well."

He gasped and nearly chocked on his sandwich.

"That is why she knew who you were." Lore said simply and then touched his hair. "Your hair stands out as much as those silver haired boys that were killed."

"She-she hasn't asked about that." He whispered. That was a year ago and he tried not think about that time all that much. Hell, he didn't know there were pictures of him fighting Yazoo.

"She has. Her question about other projects and project S. She is wondering if those boys were part of that." Lore said and offered him a spoon of soup, which he took.

"I don't know if they are… I… I mean… It…," he stammered as another spoon of soup was put in his mouth. "I don't know what made them! They… they…" Reno found his head spinning. "they were just remnants."

"Yes, we heard that term. Remnants. From Sephiroth of course. She wants to know where they were kept, if they were kept, if they were part of some sick sort of experiment." Lore said and offered him more of the sandwich.

"See, you know more than you think you do. Just tell her that and she will not leave you in a pool of blood." Lore said with a smile. "You need to eat to keep your strength up."

Reno was beginning to wonder if they were playing good cop, bad cop with him. But then, Lira was way to far gone, to be anything but bad cop. Lore was too nice to be anything but a good cop and he hated to say it.

It was working.

* * *

**Crash**

**June 17 – Unknown Location —Unknown Time**

* * *

She was awake and coddling the young boy in her arms. Lore sat beside her. She didn't move. Her hair was blocking her face, which was all the better for him. He didn't want to see those insane pale blue eyes that we nearly white looking back at him.

"Sis."

They were listening to a radio channel.

"There has been no announcement."

She lifted her face then and he saw that her cheeks were streaked with tears and it seemed that the madness had lessened a bit in her face, but it was still there.

"I know."

She gripped the boy's shoulders tighter and pulled him closer to her chest. The boy grunted in his sleep. They had drugged him up pretty good. He wished he had some more of the drug they were giving the boy. All he could feel was the pure pain that rippled through is body as well as the pure fear that he was going to be dead soon. What they had given him had worn off.

"You are coming with me? Right?" She said.

He nodded and tears were coming down his face. "Of course. I wouldn't dare abandon you sis."

She smiled and buried her face into the silver hair of the boy. "I will make sure that it doesn't hurt," she whispered.

Lore nodded and rubbed her shoulder. "Do you want me to give him the shot now?" Lore took that tube that he had placed in his sleeve and readied it as she just nodded and rolled up the shirt on the sleeping boy; that stupid thing that he was playing with earlier. It was a syringe!

He watched as Lore gave a heavy sigh. He reached forward and in a quick movment, he plunged the needle into the side of her neck and pushed down the syringe.

She gave out a terrible yell and threw her brother across the room. Her son rolled off her lap and in a daze he looked up at her with his very green eyes and in shock.

"Traitor!" She bellowed and tore the needle from her throat. Lore could not answer as he was in a pile, unconscious on the floor. She stumbled a few steps, as if she were going for her weapon, but whatever was in that syringe, it was hitting her hard and fast. He watched her stumble and try to reach her spear.

Lore looked on with wide confused eyes.

That was when the door was broke in.

He was never been so happy to see Cloud in his life.

* * *

Tbc….

Next Chapter…. **Don't you stay Dead & Safe**


	10. Don’t you stay Dead? & Safe

**Warning: did I say that Cloud had a potty mouth? Yeah, well. Cloud has a potty mouth here….**

**Read, Enjoy and Review or Fav….**

* * *

**LEFT BEHIND**

* * *

**Don't you stay dead?**

**June 17 – 10 PM – Midgar Slums**

* * *

Cloud had his sword split as he slammed the door open. It felt strange leading the charge with two armed Turks at his back and he was getting a really _really_ bad vibe from this place.

There had been a yell and it was ahead of schedule for him breaking down the door, but that yell sure as hell didn't sound good as it was followed by a think thump.

A woman was staggering towards a short spear that was perched on the end of the bed. She must be that Lira. A young man was crumbled against a shattered wall; he figured that was this Lore even though he couldn't see his face that was buried under a damaged looking arm.

They must have had a falling out. Lore didn't look like he was getting up from where he lay on the floor. She threw him good and hard. Okay, she was strong. He got that but not as strong as him.

He scanned the rest of the room quickly. His eyes flitting onto Reno was leaning against a far wall, sporting a new haircut and looking like he was bawling his eyes out. He wasn't moving or talking. He looked like he was tied up pretty good and pretty damaged as well. He looked like he took a bunch of damage.

It was the boy in the bed that startled him the most. They told him there was a kid in here. Lira's kid.

They should have told him more.

The silver haired boy that looked a little dazed and his green eyes turned right at him.

That was a vital piece of information that they left out!

He just about threw his sword at the boy. Those green eyes startled him and he had gripped his sword tighter as he looked at him.

"What the fuck is this?" He bellowed as he looked around the room. "Can't he stay dead?" The piece of information that he left out. The piece that Tseng was holding back was damn important in his mind. He did point his sword at the boy and watched him cringe a bit. Surprisingly, he didn't feel bad about the fear that the boy had for him.

He turned his attention back to the woman that was supposed to be the big threat but looked like she could barely walk and there was blood streaming from a cut on her pale damaged neck.

The woman got a hold of the spear but she was shaking so badly remain standing. This was the terror that gave Tseng a black eye and blew a hole into ShinRa's new building? She hardly looked threatening. "Stay away from my son!!" Her voice was full of fury but she fell to her knees on the floor. She was defiantly a spitfire, if in attitude alone. She threw her spear. Cloud hit it aside as she fell to her knees with gasping breath. The spear nearly hit Rude as he was walking into the room. Rude was focusing on Reno who looked like he was starting to hyperventilate.

The woman knelt there for a moment gasping for breath and holding a bloody point on her damaged throat. He couldn't help but notice that her eyes had that glow; the glow that you get from mako. He narrowed his eyes at her. There was madness in her eyes that he was familiar with. It was the same type of madness that he saw in Sephiroth as he threw him into the depths of the earth. He wondered if she was going to start ranting, but she crumpled to the floor in a disgraceful heap.

"You needed me for this?" he grumbled and looked at the boy who was shivering on the bed. It was very anticlimactic after all the build up they gave this woman as a great warrior. The woman was sick. He could see that she had more than just madness wrong with her, not that he should really care, as long as it didn't affect him anymore than it already had.

He noted the broken syringe that was lying on the floor and the familiar blue hue of a painkiller. Yeah, powerful stuff that only really worked if you were mako affected. It was hard stuff to come buy but they obviously had connections to get the powerful drug.

Tseng went to the man on the floor who groaned loudly at the strange touch.

Rude was untying Reno who looked like he was bawling silently. The loudmouth was being awful quiet for a change.

Cloud just stared at the crumpled woman and rotated the unused sword in his hand. He watched as Reeve had a few of his grunts come in and restrain the unconscious woman.

Cloud turned his attention to the boy that was on the bed and couldn't help but frown.

Cloud looked at the scared green-eyed boy that looked like Sephiroth. A mini-Sephiroth. The boy looked pale and scared. He was shaking and staring right at him. It gave him the creeps. He thought he was done with all that. Done with all this! Being dragged into ShinRa and WRO operations! DONE, DAMNIT! It was supposed to be done with! He had done his time with this and all he wanted to have a normal life and everyone conspired against him in achieving this.

People were talking in his ear through the ear piece. He wasn't paying attention to it. It was unimportant banter. He was still thinking about what he was going to do about the mini-Sephiroth that was staring at him with big tear filled green eyes.

"Mom?" the boy whispered as he looked at the slumped figure of his mother on the floor. They had her cuffed and rolled over now. He could see how sick she was and it sent shivers down his spine. He could see that she wasn't just mad, there was so much more wrong with her. He doubted that anything could cure her.

The boy made a small sound. Cloud twisted his sword in his hand and the boy's eyes darted right at him. Startled eyes "Are you going to help my mother? She is quite sick" the boy asked.

Cloud blinked. What kind of questions is that to come out of kid? He didn't answer as they lifted with woman in a harsh manner and carried her out of the room; to a most likely a cage was awaiting her.

"They'll do what they can," he muttered. His voice sounding thick at talking to the kid. The boy's voice, thankfully, was nothing like Sephiroth, but then, he was still a boy and his voice had yet to change. He had almost had forgotten the timber of the man's voice but now he was certain that his dreams would be plagued again with him.

The boy blinked as he watched his mother being dragged out of the room. He looked like he was going to cry but sniffed hard and took a big deep breath. The boy looked directly at him. There was intensity in his eyes that made him shiver and gripped his sword tighter. There were more people in the room now and they all seemed to be scared to go near the boy.

He knew he was part of the reason. He was standing close to the bed and he knew that he was looking at the boy with an intensity that he didn't really deserve. But then, the boy looked like Sephiroth and that was a nerve wracking attention grabber. The man had been dead for quite a while now, but, he found ways to terrorize the world (and him) even in death.

And everyone in the room knew who the boy's father was.

"Do you know my father?" the boy asked as if sensing the peoples thoughts in the room.

Cloud frowned. "I don't know." He didn't want to admit that Sephiroth had a son. Sephiroth? It is the only answer that he had, but he wasn't going to say it. It was obvious, but…

"They say I look quite a bit like him, even though no one will tell me what his name was," the boy whispered and started to wheeze. Some people in medical uniforms approached the boy and there was someone yelling at him in the ear piece.

The boy could be his clone, as far as Cloud was concerned. It would not be the first time that there were clones of SOLDIERS.

Was he a different type of remnant?

Of course, he had never seen a child remnant or clone, but there was always a first time.

* * *

**Safe**

** June 18 – Medical Center - Room 1**

* * *

Reno smirked as he looked at the needle in his arm that was giving him the wonderful ~_wonderful~_ drugs that were making him feel so _~so~_ much better. He was hardly aware of the doctors who had poked prodded and ran him through some initial medical tests. He could hardly feel anything as they plied him with attentions. He liked the numbness.

He was feeling so much better now. He was glad that he was able to stop crying and he was so glad that he wasn't in pain anymore. He was free of the crazy brother and sister and in a nice clean and warm room. A very nice warm room!

And the drugs were good. He didn't feel any pain! After the 3 weeks of almost constant pain, he felt so… so… refreshed!

"How are you doing partner?"

He looked over and realized that Rude was in the room. His partner. He was looking down at him with a strange look on his face.

It took Reno a moment to realize that Rude was worried about him.

He opened his mouth but nothing came out of it.

He still couldn't talk.

His throat was damaged. How many times did she put her hands on his throat to shut him up? How many times did she squeeze it so that he nearly blacked out from lack of oxygen? How often did she make him scream and plead with her, even when he no longer had a voice?

He started to feel the tears coming again and even with the drugs that were being pumped into his system, the pain seemed to be returning with a vengeance. Rude touched his shoulder and he knew that he was only trying to comfort him, but he didn't want to be touched. He flinched and Rude pulled his hand away from him.

"Do you want anything?"

Reno shook his head and sank in the blankets. He was cold again and started to shiver. It was like being in the basement again, where no matter what Lore had given him, he couldn't get warm.

A woman injected something into his IV bag and gave him a look that he didn't want. He didn't want to be pitied. He was Reno of the Turks, not some blubbering idiot that was broken by some backwater mountain town militia morons.

It must have been a sedative because he found his silent sobs slowing down. Rude was touching his hand in a tentative way with a concerned look that he could see… hey, he wasn't wearing his sunglasses. He was grateful for that. He hated sunglasses now. He didn't like the surprises that appeared under glasses.

To Be Continued….

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**Next chapter:**** GUILT & MEMORY &TREATMENT**

******Read, Enjoy and Review or Fav….**


	11. Guilit & Memory & Treatment

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LEFT BEHIND

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**Guilt June 18 – Medical center – Room 2**

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Lore was very aware of his broken arm and he knew it was bad by the metal pins that held it in place. They had used cure on him a couple of times and gave him some potions, but they seemed hesitate to remove the pins. The bone needed to set properly, one of the men that was treated him had mumbled.

He deserved the pain for his betrayal of his sister anyway. It was not a hard decision for him to stop his sister from going through with those horrible thoughts. But it was still hard being called a traitor by his sister.

He knew that she was in just as much pain, but for different reasons, but he wasn't going to let her go through with ending the pain in her way. It wasn't right. There were other ways to stop the pain that they were all were having.

He swallowed as he looked at the end of the bed where Tseng stood and was staring at him with his intense eyes. Tseng's stares always unnerved him.

"She didn't need to do this to get our assistance with Errow." Tseng said simply.

"She wouldn't listen," he whispered. "She… she kind of lost it when the doctors couldn't tell her anything about Errow's condition. He no longer show signs of geo-stigma, but he is still deteriorating – degrading - like he has it."

Tseng nodded his head. "Did she have the geo-stigma, as well?"

Lore nodded. "I think that is what started her to go insane." He sighed as he accidentally moved his broken arm. Damn. She did a number on it. Despite how the potions worked, it was going to be sore for awhile. "Both of them were so affected by the geo-stigma. They both just about died from it before it was washed away, but the taint really didn't finish leaving them I think."

"Why would you say that?" Tseng said in his cool voice. He shivered a bit at his tone. Can't he show a bit of emotion? He hadn't changed since he saw him 9 years ago.

Lore nodded. "It only took a month after that when Errow's pains started to happen. We took him to doctors and with each time a doctor said that there was nothing wrong with him that they could find; she would get a little more desperate."

"She did not need to use one of my men as blackmail material. We would have assisted," Tseng said his chin lifting slightly and there was a slight snarl on his lip. Slight.

Lore shook his head. "We had a run in with Hojo when Errow was four." Lore turned his head to the side. He couldn't look at Tseng any longer. His eyes were much too intense for him to stand any longer. "Her trust of ShinRa, was broken when she heard of the first death of Sephiroth and shattered to oblivion of Hojo trying to take Errow, saying that he would have 'a perfect specimen to replace his failed experiment'."

Tseng gave a sigh. "I see."

Did he really understand? He decided to change the subject. "I couldn't stop her from hurting him," Lore whispered. "She… she was so ruthless." He was ashamed of how his sister

"Reno will be the one to decide if you will be forgiven," Tseng said. Lore looked up at him sharply. "Rest, for now. You will be questioned later."

"Is… Is Errow okay?" Lore asked as Tseng turned to leave the room. "He is innocent in all this. He should not be punished for what we have done. He was never told who his father is."

"The doctors are looking at him." Tseng said, nodded to a Turk that was his guard and left the room.

Lore didn't feel too comforted by Tseng's last comment.

* * *

**MEMORY**

**June 18 – Medical Center – Hallway**

* * *

Cloud wasn't leaving until he got an explanation! He wanted to know how many clones of Sephiroth were out there. He didn't want to worry about seeing that face in every corner he turns.

Even if it looked like a boy, it looked so much like Sephiroth. He wanted to forget that. He wanted to not remember all those times. He wanted it to be a memory that he could push back in his head and be done with it. All that crap was bubbling to the surface again, because of that boy and his damn silver hair and those green eyes! Dealing with those remnants had been enough.

But that boy! Had to be a clone! Right? But she had called him her son. He tried to remember back when he was a cadet. It was hard to think back to those times but he still had some of his memories and they were coming back now that he was not trying to suppress that time in his life. That time got mixed up with a lot of Zack's memories and he couldn't tell which were his own. He did remember the rumours that Sephiroth would take advantage of his fan girls but he had never heard anyone ~ _anyone_ ~ ever claiming that they had a _love_ child of Sephiroth. He shuttered at that thought. Of course, the woman that was claiming this was as crazy as Sephiroth had become.

His head hurt.

What the hell was going on!

He didn't want to think about this! When did he have time to have relations? The woman was defiantly crazy, but she obviously wasn't always that way. The boy was about 8 or 9 years old from the looks of him. That was even before he was a cadet, when he had tried to be a SOLDIER! He pinched his nose and shook his head.

He really had wished that he had just brushed off the Turks and made the delivery. Rode Fenir over top of the fancy car and made the delievery. Sometimes it would be nice, if you didn't know something. Hell, it was not like they needed him there after all. It looked like a war amongst themselves that took care of all that problem.

He didn't need to see the kid.

He didn't want to be reminded about Sephiroth.

_~I will never be a memory~_

Damn it. He didn't want to think about all that! The thought of those words made him want to jump out of his skin!

Tseng walked towards him down the hall. He felt on edge and reached up to touch the sword that he wore slung over his shoulder. It was comforting to know that it was there.

Now he couldn't leave without answers.

* * *

**TREATMENT**

**June 18 – Medical Center – Room 3**

* * *

He was well aware that everyone was uncomfortable looking at him. Everyone was tense around him and he knew it was because they must have known his father. He heard the voices whispering around him and as a new doctor would enter, the gasp that would ensue.

Who was his father that made people so scared of him?

Of course, no one would directly say it. He knew the name began with S, because of the few slips he had heard in his life. But mom was always careful in not telling him who his father was.

"You need to worry about that. You are Errow and you are my son. That is all that really matters." He hated when she said that. Everyone else had a dad and they were important, why was his dad not? He doubted that from the reaction he was getting here. He was pretty sure his mom was lying about that. He was pretty sure that his father had been an important man and that he looked like him.

He really hated how everyone kept that from him. He didn't understand why it had to be such a secret and why his mom was freaking out like she was. Errow didn't like how she was hurting that poor man. Reno. The guy didn't deserve her wraith but Lore had promised him that he would make it okay.

He wondered if this was his uncle's idea of making this right.

He was wide-awake as the doctors talked around him like he wasn't there. It was almost as if they were afraid to talk to him.

They were afraid to even touch him!

He wished he knew why? Was everyone afraid of his father or something? He was pretty sure of that. The reaction of that blond guy with eyes that glowed like his mothers told him that.

_~Can't he stay dead!~_

Those words rang in his ears. He knew his father was dead, but what did that mean when that blond guy said that?

An older woman came up to him with a warm smile and not a fake warm smile, an actual warm smile. "Now then, Errow, we are going to draw some blood now," she said. Her voice soft and gently. She wasn't as course as the others in the room who were just ignoring him or sneaking glances at him in a scared way.

He held out his arm. He knew the routine.

"Can you describe the pain?" she asked.

He sighed. He had told this story a million times to what seemed like a million doctors. "It feels like my back is trying to fold into my chest," he said. "When my stomach hurts, it feels like someone is trying to claw out my guts."

She blinked as she looked at him and stopped tapping his arm, looking for a vein. "Hmmm," she said. "Can I check out your back?"

He just leaned forward and she ran her hands over his back. He shuttered. He hated people touching him. He hated it. He had been to many doctors in his life time for him to like being poked and prodded by them. She was gently as she grazed his shoulder blades, where it always ached and where he always flinched when they were touched.

"Thank you, Errow. Now, let's back to that blood." She said and went back to sticking a sharp needle into a vein.

"When did you start having these pains?"

"A year ago. After I got over the geo-stigma." He said.

She made a little noise and switched vials out.

"You let me know when you are having those pains again," she said. "Ask for Lisa."

He nodded.

He had been though all this before, just to be told that he was going to die, in a polite and politically correct manner, but the look on his mothers face always told him the truth.

He had been sick most of his life and this was the thing that was going to finally finish him off. Lore may have stopped mom from ending it early, but he knew that he was still going to die. That blond guy wouldn't have to worry about him being alive for much longer.

To Be Continued…

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**Next Chapter… ****Forced Care & Conference & More to it**


	12. Forced Care & Conference & More to it

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LEFT BEHIND

* * *

**Forced Care**

**June 18 – Detention Center**

* * *

She sat in the corner glaring at the door.

She had recovered from the drug that her own traitorous brother had given her and sat silently in the room. The doctors had given them that needle to help Errow, when he was in a lot of pain. She never thought her brother would turn it to her.

Her own brother…

The door opened and Tseng entered as well as the blond guy with the mako eyes.

"Scared, Turk. I didn't think there was anything left of SOLDIER." She muttered but didn't' move. She didn't think there were any SOLDIER's left. She was sure that they were all dead or disbanded after Sephiroth's death and the failure of them to maintain their own ranks.

"I was never a SOLDIER," the blond muttered and frowned at her. He was fiddling with the sword in his hand, turning it slowly as he looked at her.

"I am not known for being a fool," Tseng said. "I can't say the same about you."

She tried to keep her anger under control, but she knew that it showed on her face as the blonds' hand tensed around the sword and held it in a more ready position. The guy was not one to let his guard down. You could see that. The way his eyes narrowed as she spoke. He was ready to strike. Interesting. He said he was not a SOLDIER but he was acting like one.

"We never knew about Errow." Tseng said.

"Then why did that damn Hojo come?" she growled. She took her attention off the SOLDIER in denial and turned her anger back to the stoic Turk that was glaring at her; turning back the anger to the employee of ShinRa.

Tseng shook his head. "I know nothing about Hojo going there. I just learned of that from your brother." Of course, he would have talked to Lore first. She wondered what her brother had told him already. But then, it really didn't matter. He was a traitor to her family now.

"Well, he found out. It was after they announced that Sephiroth died in battle." She sneered. About 3 months after that press release went out, Hojo crew arrived in town.

She found her attention turning back to the blond who was shifting uncomfortably. He seemed to twitch every time the Sephiroth was mentioned.

"Did Sephiroth know about Errow?" Tseng asked. She knew that these questions would come.

She nodded. "He knew." She smiled a bit as she said it.

"How did he respond to that?" The blond asked. Tseng gave the blond a glare but the blond didn't seem to care. She knew that most people respected the Turk from the looks of this; the blond was something that didn't seem to care about the Turks. Interesting. The blond was more than just muscle; maybe more that just a SOLDIER in denial. Very Interesting.

"He visited." She said. "He only came once," her eyes were right on the blond, "before he was killed." Yeah, the blond did not like this conversation. She wondered who he was and why Tseng brought him in instead of another Turk. This guy was not dressed like a lap-dog of ShinRa. He looked uncomfortable and angry. What was he and why was he here? What did Tseng have on him? Or maybe it was the other way around?

"Hojo must have found out from Sephiroth." Tseng said. "I found no indication that he had a son, in my investigations."

"Yeah, the slimy little lab rat, almost got on my good side until he called my son a replacement for loosing his prize subject." She snarled. "Didn't get him though, got the most of the crew that he brought with him, but missed the weasel. Is the rat still around?"

"He's dead," the blond said and started to twist that sword in his hands. He seemed to be quite satisfied with the thought of Hojo dying. He wondered if he had a hand in it? From his tone, he was pretty sure that he did.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"As dead as things get around here," the blond muttered and frowned as if he just tasted something that was bitter.

"I want the medical staff to look at you." Tseng said. "Your brother mentioned that you had the geo-stigma and is still suffering from after effects."

"They are not touching me." She said simply. "I will not become an experiment! I have had enough of that crap. You will not get your talons in me again!" She reflexively put her hand to her throat and let her hair fall around her face. She was not going to allow ShinRa doctors to examine her!

She watched as the blondes eyes seem to stare right through her. Did he notice? Did he know that there was more wrong with her neck other than the needle mark? There was knowledge in his eyes that normal people didn't have.

Yeah.

The guy was interesting and she didn't like him at all.

* * *

**Conference**

**June 18 – Medical center – Conference room B**

* * *

Lore sighed as he sat in the wheel chair that they had him strapped to. He looked nervous and uncomfortable as he looked at the people around the room.

Tseng sat and listened to the doctors as they asked questions of Lore who seemed to slump further in the chair with each question that came up. He let the Reeve take the lead on the questioning; after all, it wasn't supposed to be an interrogation.

Lore spoke freely about his sisters condition as well as what he knew of his nephews.

"They both had that geo-stigma and they both were nearly dead when that went away," he said simply. He already knew this. "It was a month after that Errow started to have the new pains. Errow was never a very healthy child. There was always something wrong with him, but the doctors could always find something to help him get better. It is part of the reason that Lira is quite overprotective of him." He sighed heavily. "I know that it wasn't right and I know that her thinking wasn't right, but all she was trying to do was to protect and save Errow."

"What ailments did he have as a child?" Reeve asked. Lore rattled off quite a few names. The kid certainly had not been a healthy kid.

"What about this pain that they boy's been having? I witnessed one of his bouts and we are still assessing it. Has it gotten worse as the time wore on?" Reeve asked in a clam and low voice.

Lore nodded. "His screams were unbearable at times," his voice shook as he spoke.

Tseng noticed that Cloud shifted uncomfortably beside him. He told Cloud that he could go home and that his services were no longer needed, but Cloud shook his head. "I don't want surprises showing up at my door again," was his answer.

Tseng didn't blame him for his tone as well.

The questions went on about his current condition continued. The doctors were frantically scribbling details on the boy.

Reeve sighed heavily as he stated. "Hollander was the one that helped her recover from her mako poisoning when she fell into the life stream."

Lore nodded.

"We have no records of that," Reeve said.

"I was 8 years old when that happened," Lore said.

"What can you tell us?" Reeve said.

"Everyone liked him. He seemed to be concerned about my sister and me." Lore sighed heavily. "I know better now."

"And why would you say that?" Reeve asked.

"She recovered. I was grateful for that, but… she was not the same. She had those glowing eyes, and she was more aggressive after that as well. I mean, she was always pushy and all, being the older of us, but she wasn't like that before." Lore said. Tseng watched as he kept his eyes on his lap. He knew more that he was telling here.

"You didn't leave your sisters side during her recovery?" Tseng asked. He knew Lore was hardly ever out of his sister's sight. He doubted that it was any different from when they were children.

Lore just nodded.

"How did they help her recover?" Tseng asked. He knew they were all looking at him. He was supposed to be asking these questions. This was not supposed to be an interrogation.

"Needles," Lore said and shivered. "I didn't know what was in them."

Tseng paid close attention to those words. It wasn't a bold face lie, but it sure as hell wasn't the whole truth. He made a mental note that he would have to ask him further details when he was interrogating him. He leaned back in his chair to indicate that he was done with his questions under Reeves stern gaze.

Reeve continued the questions.

"So the geo-stigma set something off in her and her son?" Reeve said after a bunch of questions that involved more medical tests. Lore seemed to be quite fluent in his understand of the medical terms.

Lore nodded.

Cloud made a grunting noise but remained silent. He seemed tense and it looked like he wanted to say something but was holding back. What could Cloud have to add to his conversation?

Phones, not just one, but a few started to go off. People delved into their pockets of their white coats or press the buttons on the side of there beepers. "He is having a seizure." Someone said.

Lore sat upright in his chair. "Errow!" The restraints held him down. He looked panicked.

People were leaving the room.

"I can comfort him! I can help!" Lore pleaded and looked like he was going to burst into tears. Tseng felt sorry for him but it still was not going to change his decision. "He is my nephew!"

A woman rolled his chair out of the room. The meeting obviously over as they went to stare at the boy having a seizure. Tseng had no desire to see that.

"You guys are a bunch of idiots," Cloud mumbled to no one in particular.

"Excuse me," Tseng said as he looked at the sullen warrior as he rose from his chair.

"He is holding back information." Cloud snorted.

"I can see that," Tseng said as he stood also.

Cloud sighed. "Let's go outside Tseng. We need to chat." His jaw was tense and he looked a little edgy.

* * *

**More to it**

**June 18 – Outside Medical Center**

* * *

"There is more to her than just falling in a mako pool?" Cloud stated. "Was she another one of Hojo of Hollander's sick experiments?"

Cloud remembered his time as a test subject. It was a time that he wished that he didn't get his memories back on, but they crept on him from time to time. Seeing that boy, and the crazy woman with eyes that glows of Mako, made old memories seep back in. He was getting mightily creeped out. He could feel his skin itching with old memories that he did not want to surface. Hearing to Lore talk, didn't alleviate any of his anxiety.

Tseng explain again what he understood of a child hood accident that caused her to fall into the life stream and nearly died of mako poisoning. ShinRa had helped her recover from her illness. It wasn't Hojo but Hollander. Not that, the was any better. He was just as twisted, but he didn't have the same amount of power. He had heard this before and knew that there was a layer of crap that was there.

"Mako enhances people's natural strengths. You are well aware of this fact, Cloud." Tseng said simply. "I want to check on Reno." He did. He was wondering how the Turk was doing.

"You dragged me into this!" Cloud said. "Aren't there any records? You don't get like that just from falling into a mako pool! What are you hiding Tseng?"

Tseng turned to him and looked like he was going to say something. Cloud cut him off. "Look, I know that has been the line, okay, but it is the mako when it is mixed with… with… whatever it was they decided to mix it with. I have looked into this. SOLDIERS did not become SOLDIERS just because they had a shower under some mako. There were other things that helped them become the monsters that we became." He shuttered involuntarily. He had 4 years, where they tried to make him into Sephiroth. Four years of poking, prodding and immersing… he still did not know how he survived those experiments.

"I am not aware of that," Tseng said simply.

"Bullshit," Cloud said with a snarl. He clenched his fist. "I remember some of my time in that basement, Tseng. So don't bullshit me!"

Tseng lowered his head slightly and stopped walking and turned to Cloud. Cloud never could read the guy. His eyes and face were passive. "The people that were involved in that are no longer working for the company, even those that were supposed to be under my employ."

Cloud stared at him and felt old anger emerging; the anger and fear that nearly consumed him and destroyed him.

"I lost a friend as well," Tseng said. "But that is the past and I cannot change things that I did not know at the time." He looked at the medical center building where Lore was incarcerated. "There are many things that I regret in my career, Cloud, talking about them, will not make things better."

Cloud snorted, "No, but it explain what she is!" He said. "What was she injected with to become so unstable and don't tell me you didn't see the signs of degradation that were on her neck, hiding behind that hair of hers. Hell, you could see that she was coloring her hair too. Tell me that you saw it or are your observations skills that lacking?"

He saw the shocked look on Tseng's face as he spoke that.

"You really didn't notice," Cloud shook his head. "It was like what happened to those other SOLDIERS that were friends of Sephiroth. I remember seeing those clones and how they degraded as well. It is happening to her, so she is not an S cell recipient, but she can be a G cell recipient."

Tseng blinked and tried to gain his composure. The words Cloud was saying quite stunned him. Cloud was supposed to be a supposed ex-SOLDIER not a scientist. He didn't think Cloud had any memories of that time. He never gave any indication that he remembered the time before he was a lab subject.

Cloud shook his head. "I know I am not one of those lab rats, but I can see that in that woman that is there. Why the hell don't you guys see it? You better the hell fill me in on what the hell is going on here because she going crazy like that Genesis or Angeal did."

Tseng straightened his back. Cloud didn't realize that the Turk had slumped. "We shall have to talk with the medical staff that Reeve has assembled. I am afraid that there is not many people left around that are familiar with the works of both Hollander and Hojo. Most defected with them and hence, are no longer around to talk with us."

"Great. I get to be a medical expert on S cells." Cloud muttered. "I am not going to be poked and prodded for their sakes."

"I would not expect you to," Tseng said. "But I believe your insight will help us resolve this issue we are having."

Cloud frowned heavily. "Damn it and it seemed that no one was bothered by the fact that Lore knew about all this stuff, when your illustrious idiotic lab rats don't even have a clue."

"He has not stated that he knows…"

"He knows. You should ask him about G cells and see what type of answer that you get from him." Cloud snorted and adjusted the sword on his back.

"I think I will," he whispered. "I wish to speak to Reno, if you do not mind."

Cloud grunted. "Yeah. The rat was awful quiet when we drug him out of the room."

Tseng nodded. He was worried about Reno. Even in pain, Reno was not one to be silent. The man even talked embarrassingly in his sleep, there was nothing about him that was quiet unless he wanted to be.

* * *

To be continued

Next Chapter…. Report.


	13. Report

**LEFT BEHIND**

* * *

**Report June 19 – Tseng's Office – 10 AM**

He frowned heavily as he looked around the destroyed office. He knew that the woman had done some damage, but he didn't realize that it was that much. He was quite disappointed that Tseng had downplayed the hazard that she was presenting to them.

This Lira woman.

The only thing that was blocking the hole in the wall was a fluttering piece of red tape that warned of caution.

"Sir?"

Rufus turned his head to the Turk that was his bodyguard this month. He was a younger Turk with the name of Dirk; bad name, but a good Turk. A new recruit. Dirk the Turk was adept with guns and knives and had proven him in the past. He was quiet and loyal. Dirk was a good bodyguard to have and he seldom spoke. Dirk was the type of man that he needed to have around him most of the time.

"Contact Tseng, Dirk. Tell him that I need to see him now," he said. Rufus looked at the debris of papers on the floor. He did not look up at the sound of Dirk's voice on the phone.

He needed more information. The take down on that little slum house made the news. He was not pleased to see that they had recruited Strife in this operation. There was no need to bring him back into the organization. Not that he ever really was.

He toed at the debris that was once a very expensive desk with his white shoe and frowned. There was something red in the debris. He toed out a piece of the wood and saw what looked like a red hair ball.

He blinked a few moments.

It was Dirk that said something. "Reno is the only guy I know that has hair like that."

Rufus didn't respond. Yeah. Reno was the only guy that had hair like that. Tseng did not mention to him about this. Who lopped it off? This woman that was a lot more than he had been told and he did not like knowing information.

He left the hair on the floor, despite the urge to pick it up. He knew that Reno was in the Medical Center now. He was alive, if not well. But seeing his vivid red pony tail on the floor was quite disturbing.

"Tseng said he would be here in 10 minutes," Dirk said and taking a few steps back from him.

Rufus just nodded. The office was completely ruined. The building was only 2 years old and already there was a taint on the building. It had made the press too. ShinRa already had enough bad press and this was not helping its resurrection. He sighed heavily. He had still four Turks and 6 infantry in the Medical Center from her actions and the humiliation of her escape from supposedly the most secure building in all of Edge. A secure building where she just walked right up to Tseng desk and was admitted into the head of the Turks.

He saw the video of what she was capable of and was a little unnerved with her skilled used of the spear and claw and destroying his highly trained men as well as her cold demands that she had given Tseng.

"Ten minutes," Rufus whispered and frowned. He didn't want to be kept waiting to find out the information that he was supposed to already know.

So he waited and grew annoyed as he stood in the ruined office. There was not even a chair that was left in tact.

Ten minutes passed and there still was no Tseng. Tseng was not known for being late and was usually earlier than he was every late. He was not liking this side of him. It disturbed him quite a bit.

It was fifteen minutes when Tseng walked in the door with Cloud grumpily walking behind him.

"This meeting is not for outsiders," Rufus said quickly eyeing Cloud.

"Yeah, well. You are stuck with me here now," Cloud said. He tried to hide the shock. Just a few years ago, he wanted nothing to do with them and here he was being all stubborn and refusing to leave. "I don't like it any more than you do."

"I am sorry for being late sir," Tseng said simply and not offering an explanation. From the frown on Cloud's face, he was pretty sure that he knew the reason.

Rufus was silent for a moment. He watched as Dirk and Tseng positioned themselves in between him and Cloud without even realizing it.

"You have been tardy with your updates. I do not like having to interpret the information like I was forced to," Rufus said and stood by the hole in the wall. He could see Cloud eyes sparkle in amusement at the damage in the room.

"I am sorry sir," Tseng said. "I will summarize for you what I know."

"Why don't I summarize what I know, and we shall see if I am missing something?" Rufus said. He saw a glimmer of shock in Tseng's eyes. "These incidents have made a lot of press and there have been a lot of questions coming my way, Tseng. I found out what I could and hoped that the report would be forthcoming. I do not enjoy having to do all this research."

Cloud smirked. Rufus was glad that he was amused. He was pretty sure the reason that Tseng had not got him the much needed information.

"As I understand it, we lost a scout in the town of Bearnin. Upon loosing contact, you decided to send a Turk. Reno. You got an initial report in the form of a picture and a text message and then contact was lost. Upon deciding that the delay in his reporting had become excessive, there was a retrieval mission planned. Before the retrieval was initiated this Militia group leader showed up in your office."

Rufus paused as he looked down at the red hair that was on the floor.

"This Lira gave you a pretty weak ultimatum that dealt with Reno for the health of her sickly son. She gave you a time line to change your mind, but you still refused and hence the damage to your office and I see that you are still sporting the wounds that she gave you in her escape."

Rufus looked at the hole in the wall. He saw the video. She had used a tri-bolt matera to create that hole in the wall and send a few out of it. She was not at all an inexperienced fighter but still, escaping his Turks. He turned back to Tseng who looked slightly ashamed. Good. Maybe he would step up the training protocols.

"You lost track of her."

Tseng visibly winced.

"I heard the recording of the phone call that Lore sent you and allowed you to track the locations. This is where you recruited Cloud. Our reluctant hero."

Rufus looked at Cloud.

"No shit." He heard Cloud mutter under his breath.

Rufus choose to ignore him.

"You raided the shack that they were hiding out, without much fuss, as it seems that her own brother thought her to insane enough to incapacitate her. The press took quite a bit of pictures of the woman being thrown into the back of a van and carted off as well as plastering images of a damaged Turk as well."

Rufus looked back at the hair on the floor.

"The other two, this Lore and Errow were carted out under blankets and placed in the back of an ambulance."

Rufus looked at Tseng.

"I understand the Reno cannot speak and is still going under medical tests and treatments. This Lore fellow is fine, but being kept at the medical center because of the ailing boy. I understand that the woman is in the Detention Center and is hardly being cooperative with the questions."

Tseng nodded.

"Now, that is all that I know."

Cloud made a chuckling noise. "Man, you are in for a surprise."

Tseng glared at Cloud.

"I see. I am still missing quite a bit of information." Rufus said. "So, enlighten me."

Cloud made a small snorting sound. Rufus was not used to this type of behavior around him. He didn't like it, but he also knew there was no way that he could ever get respect from Cloud. There was to much bad history there. Way to much.

"Well sir," Tseng started but Cloud shook his head and took a step forward. Dirk moved to block his way and had a knife in his hand. Cloud looked down at the knife with a small amused smile. Yeah, Cloud had a hell of a knife on his back and it wouldn't take him long to take care of that little knife that Dirk had in his hand.

Cloud glared at the Turk. "Have you seen Errow?"

"No. Why would that matter?' Rufus said.

"Because, sir, Errow looks remarkably like Sephiorth," Tseng said. "We are still running the test to confirm this."

Rufus stopped and forced himself to remain very still. Sephiroth. "What? Did I hear you correctly?"

"Oh yeah. You heard him correctly." Cloud stated. "Scary as hell too."

Now he understood why Cloud was still hovering around them. If Sephiroth were involved, then sooner or later, it would sneak up on him. He was pretty sure the man didn't want to have any more surprises. The last encounter with the remnants had been most … unpleasant.

"At least the kid doesn't act like his father," Cloud muttered. "Lira has not denied who the father was and is quite vocal about how she does not want him to become another lab experiment." Cloud leaned forward and growled at Dirk. "Get that knife out of my gut or I will place mine in yours."

Dirk startled a bit.

Those glowing mako eyes would do that to people. Rufus was glad that there weren't any real SOLDIERS left around. They all were a little unstable.

Dirk did not back down.

"Back down, Dirk," Tseng said in a calm tone. "His fight is not here unless you make it so."

Dirk obeyed and looked to Rufus for confirmation of the order. Rufus nodded. Dirk took a few steps back but still stared fixedly at Cloud. Maybe he was remembering the stories about the man. He was not that imposing of a figure on the surface, but then, he had accomplished more than anyone else could have. Hell, he had looked at Cloud old files. The boy didn't make it into SOLDIER and barely made it in as a grunt, and he someone became the world's savior, on a few occasions.

Even before his enhancements, Cloud took out Sephiroth.

From what he found in a bunch of Hojo's files, it should have been impossible. Even the experimentations failed on Cloud. So badly, that he wasn't given a number. Yet, he was the only one that survived it all. He would have to change his definition of failure.

"I wish to see this boy," Rufus said.

"And what good will that do?" Cloud said simply. "Trust me, the kids father is Sephiroth and the kid is sick. Every couple of hours, pain rips through his body and he screams. I believe the last bout was just an hour or so ago, so he will be passed out again. The kid is going to die." Clouds voice dipped a bit. "He is made up of incompatible cells. S and G. They do not cooperate well together."

"Cells? When did you become a medical expert?" Rufus said a bit more curtly than he meant to.

Cloud was unfazed though. "Since, I am the only one that has been left alive from all those damn experiments, that is when!" His mako eyes were glowing with a fury that he remembered from seeing him in battle. "I have spent most of my adult life trying to forget all those damn tests and those rats talking, but when that is all that you had for four years of your life, some of that information sinks in."

"Sir, we have strong indications that Lira was injected with G cells when she was a child," Tseng said.

"How?" Rufus demanded.

"It seems that when Lira was young, she fell into the life stream and was hence affected with mako poisoning. It seems that your father sent Hollander to treat her. We believe that is where it came from, sir." Tseng said. "We have not found evidence. She is showing signs of degrading and Lore has stated such. The results from the lab tests will confirm this."

Rufus narrowed his eyes at Tseng. "And how would Lore know about these G cells? I can understand the reasoning with Cloud understanding this information, but how would Lore know?"

"I asked the same thing," Cloud said. "Little bastard won't talk. Won't even look at you when you mention it."

"Have you not properly interrogated the man?" Tseng asked.

"Tseng wouldn't let me," Cloud muttered. That was something new from the man. Cloud was always against anything that remotely was related to Turks. Well, times do change.

"That is next on the plan, sir," Tseng said. "I have a suspicion already of how he knows."

"Oh, and what would that be?" Rufus said. This situation was getting more complex that he thought. The sigh that Tseng gave and how he rubbed his forehead was quite disturbing.

"Lore and Genesis were close friends and remained in contact until his disappearance from ShinRa," Tseng said in a low voice.

Cloud stiffened. "What! Okay. This is wonderful! I am dealing with a mini-Sephiroth and now we may be dealing with Genesis as well!"

"I did not say that! Genesis knew quite a bit about the experiments that occurred on him and Angeal before they defected. He may have passed on the information onto Lore. That is all that I am suggesting." Tseng said quickly.

"Really? Genesis would share that information with a boy such as Lore?" Rufus said.

Tseng pinched his nose again. "He was quite free with his tongue when he talked with Lore."

"And?" Rufus said.

"Sir?" Tseng said.

"What are you leaving out, Tseng?"

"Genesis did take a strong liking to Lore," Tseng said. His voice was stiff as he looked at Rufus. "They were fast friends."

"Fast friends?" Cloud scowled. "That explains him spouting Loveless."

Rufus scowled. So those rumors were true.

"Then why didn't he tell his sister this information?" Cloud asked. "She knew nothing about such things when I questioned her."

Rufus raised an eyebrow. Cloud was doing the questioning and not one of his Turks? The world was turning upside down with the intrusion of the woman.

"I cannot answer that." Tseng said simply.

Rufus crossed his arms. "I do have more things to clarify. It seems that they knew you. They seem quite familiar with you, Tseng. Explain."

Tseng nodded. "I was with them on the scouting mission in Bearnin about 9 years ago. She is the Commander of the Bearnin Militia and Lore was the second in command, even then."

"Even then? This woman does not strike me as that old. How old was she then?" Rufus said. The woman he saw in the video still looked like she was in her early twenties.

"She was sixteen at the time."

"She was in charge of a Militia group and she was a child?" Cloud said mirroring Rufus thoughts exactly.

"Yes. She was a force to contend with then, and she was not nearly as grumpy as she is now. She was not insane," Tseng said. "I personally tried to recruit her to become a Turk, she would have made a fine addition but she refused the invite. Of course, I realize that there was more to that, now."

"Yes, the child," Rufus said and stood trying to sort all the information that he had been fed. Nothing there would be allowed to go public. It could not be allowed. Those past mistakes of his father would not be repeated under him or under the new WRO. There were enough monsters in the world.

Tseng shook his head. "I went back 2 months after that mission to ask them both to join the Turks. I know Lore thought about it but he would not leave his sister who flatly refused without so much of a thought."

"Well, she would have known by then." Cloud said.

"Yes, but she did keep the secret quite well," Tseng said.

"Not that well. She said that Hojo knew and sent some of his rats to see her," Cloud said and rubbed the back of his head. "How did Hojo find out?"

The wind picked up some of the red hair on the floor and twirled it close to his feet. Rufus sighed. "None of that really matters. We are here now dealing with the consequences of the past, yet again." All the stuff that his father did trying to hang on to power, seemed to be set in front of him to try him.

"Sir?" It was Dirk who was by his side asking him the question.

"I still want to see this boy," Rufus said, "And this woman that started this whole mess."

Cloud sniffed. "I believe that it was your father that started this mess."

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Next chapters … Psycho, Pain & Prick**

* * *


	14. Psycho, Pain & Prick

**LEFT BEHIND **

**

* * *

**

**Psycho **

**June 29 – Reno's Apartment – Noon**

* * *

Reno frowned at his reflection in the mirror. He kind of regretted getting the rest of his hair cut so short now. He missed his long rat-tail that she cut off, and in a moment of denial and pain, he had told the barber to chop it short. Well, didn't tell the barber really. It was more like he showed him a picture and then pointed to his hair and the old guy did the hair cut.

He still couldn't talk.

There had been extensive damage to his throat but the doctors said that it was healed and that he should be able to talk. They couldn't find anything wrong with it despite how many times they irradiated with x-rays and various other scans.

He still couldn't produce a sound.

He tried. He couldn't even make an involuntary noise! He made Rude punch him to try to get him to make a sound and that didn't work. Why couldn't he talk?

He frowned and ran his fingers through his now short hair. He hated even the way that it felt! It had been a really bad decision to get it so short.

His stomach gurgled. He just woke up ten minutes ago and it was nearly lunch time. He didn't remember if he ate anything for supper the day before.

He found that he slept a lot lately. He knew it wasn't a good sign, but sleep was rather comforting and the only time that his mind was thinking about that god damn basement, the psycho-twins and mini-Sephiroth. The various pills the doctors gave him helped with that as well. He knew he was taking more than they prescribed, but it guaranteed that he was going to stay asleep.

Hell, there was nothing else for him to do.

He closed his eyes and put his hands on the side of his sink.

After he was released from the hospital, he had done the only thing he could think of doing. He went to his little cubby-hole that they called an office and wrote his report. He just wrote down his failure in black and white and handed to a shocked looking Tseng.

"What is this?" Tseng had said as he held the blue folder; Blue folder, because the mission did not get completed.

A failure like he was.

Of course, he couldn't answer and just opened it up to the cover page and pointed out to the due date as well. He wanted to make sure that Tseng knew that he wasn't going to be late for anything ever again. That the report was early and he had handed it in. Two days earlier than it was supposed to be!

The horror on Tseng face had been evident.

It was done, though, and he wouldn't be late with anything ever again.

Tseng told him to go home.

He didn't want to go home. He wanted to work. Rude had to drag him home, force him to take some pills.

Hell, that was even weird. He was pretty sure it was just because Rude didn't know how to deal with his silence, but he talked more than he had ever heard him talk in the past. Reno was pretty sure that his partner felt awkward talking that much and was grateful when the pills knocked him out.

He looked at the clock. He had an hour before his stupid appointment and he doubted that he would have time to eat lunch.

He didn't know why he bothered. It wasn't like he could say anything or had anything to add. He gave the psycho-doc his report and walked out after the first session, but then was forced to go again. Hell, Rude would be here in 15 minutes to make sure that he went.

He didn't want a babysitter.

He went into the shower and let the water wash over him. He couldn't wash his legs. The scars were still there from her knives. He couldn't touch them yet. He knew that was messed up, because they didn't hurt anymore. They were just lines on his legs now, but he still couldn't touch them.

Crap.

He was screwed up.

They psycho-twins had really fucked with his mind. That was the word. Screwed up didn't have to have the same kick as fucked.

He heard a knock at his door through the shower. Rude was early. He wasn't going to get out yet though. The shower felt nice and warm and he didn't want to go to the stuffy psycho-doc's office again.

He heard the door open and knew that Rude had let himself in.

"Reno?"

He would have called out if he had a voice, but didn't even try. He shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. He dried himself off, and just opened the door and gave a small wave to his partner before going into his bedroom and got dressed.

He didn't put on his Turk uniform. He wasn't a Turk when he was like this, so he dressed in some casual clothes. Hell, they were old and he didn't even remember buying them, since he wore his suit all the time anyway, but he wasn't on duty and would most likely not be on duty until he got his voice back.

…if ever.

He walked out and looked at his stoic friend. "Ready to go." Rude said simply, but it was still more than he would have said, if he had his voice.

Reno nodded.

He noted that Rude wasn't wearing his sunglasses.

He stared at him for a moment. "Reno?" Rude was holding the door open. It was odd seeing him without them. He could see the pair tucked in his upper pocket and most likely a spare pair hiding somewhere else in his coat as well, as usual. He must have read the report in the damn blue folder.

He wanted to tell him that it was okay for him to wear the glasses. He wasn't a mako crazed woman with glowing blue eyes that was trying to drive him insane and cut him to pieces. He could handle him wearing his glasses

But he was annoyed and apreciated the effort of his partner at the same time.

He made his feet move. He didn't want to late for his appointment. That was the old Reno. This new Reno would be on time or early from now on.

The drive was brutally quiet and it irked him that he wasn't allowed to drive too! He didn't have a voice, but that mean he couldn't drive. He hated Rude's driving. He drove like a little old lady and obeyed all the traffic laws. His slowness nearly made them late for his damn appointment with the psycho-doc.

It was the type of situation that should have made him curse and yell. Maybe that was why Rude was driving so slowly, but he couldn't even make a peep.

He stormed up to the elevator with his hands pushed tightly in his pants pockets trying to hold back his anger. He was angry a lot now that he couldn't curse, yell, or even talk.

"I will wait for you, here," Rude said and walked over to the coffee shop. He could see his fingers itching for the glasses in his pocket.

He didn't even acknowledge him and just stepped in the elevator and went to the psycho-doc's floor.

* * *

**Pain**

**June 29 – Medical Centre – 2 PM**

* * *

Lore took a deep breath and tried to get his thoughts clear. Seeing his nephew screaming as the pain ripped through him as he visited was getting more and more unsettling. It was so much worse than if it was before. They had done treatments but none of it was working. He wondered if the doctors really knew what they were doing.

And then there was his sister; Lira was turning into a ghost. He had seen her earlier today and tried to get some reason into her head, but she was still mad. In more than one way. She still has delusions of what was going on, even though she herself was slowly dying, never mind how mad she was still about him sedating her.

He was beginning to wonder if he had done the right thing and hated himself for thinking that way. They both were in so much pain. He wished he could call up mom and dad and talk with them, but he didn't dare. They didn't really know how badly Lira had decent into madness and to the extent that she did. He didn't want to worry his parents any further than they already were.

Things were so screwed up.

He stood on the roof of the Medical Center, scared, confused and unsure of what to do next. He had this bit of freedom as long as he reported in a certain times. They were not worried about him running. After all, where was he to go, when those he loved the most were in the care of ShinRa. Errow was out cold from the last painful seizure. They were keeping him in an almost constant state of sedation now and that was painful to see such a little boy so dazed, confused and full of drugs.

He stared out at the city and missed the mountains that were his home. He doubted that he could ever really return. How could he go back home without his sister and nephew? He hid behind an air conditioning unit and stared at the sunny blue sky. It wasn't the same type of sky as home. He thought of that Cloud character and shuttered. The man was ruthless. It was hard not to crack under the guy's stare but he couldn't tell them how he knew the information that he gave them. Cloud was trying to pry it out of him and it was close a few times, but he couldn't betray the trust of his friend. His dead friend. What good would it do to tell them where he got the information from? Tseng surely knew but was looking at him to answer. Or, was Tseng fooled by his own press? Plus, they knew all the information he knew and more. They knew that what caused the degradation in his sister and most likely the pain that was in his nephew, and he didn't know how he was going to make them better. He wished he did. He hoped that they could figure it out so that they both can return to a normal life.

He heard a small laugh behind him. "Ah, I found you." He turned and stood, nearly tripping over his own feet as he did so. An arm wrapped around his waist to keep him from falling. A warm familiar arm that he had missed so much. He gasped at the feeling of the arm and he wanted to turn around to see the owner of the arm around his waist. He was pulled into the chest of the man that he hadn't seen for years. He remembered that feeling and remembered his smell. He started to cry. He tried to turn around but the firm arm restrained him firmly. "I thought you died." He whispered and felt tears coming down his cheeks. "You have been gone for so long." The small laugh sent chills through him. He didn't realize how he had missed it. He heard the familiar phrase being muttered.

_Even if the morrow is barren of promises  
Nothing shall forestall my return_

* * *

**Prick**

**June 29 – Medical Centre – 3 PM**

* * *

Cloud, Reeve and Tseng just had to be standing by the elevator. They must have been having another meeting about the psycho-twins and the mini-Sephiroth.

Reno did not want to deal with them.

The psycho-doc made him write the answers to all the questions that he asked and they were all stupid questions too. He hated that psycho-doc. He really did.

He didn't want to deal with those three. He didn't know why Cloud was even still around. He thought he would have bolted once his muscle was no longer needed, but obviously, the spiky headed hero still was obsessed with Sephiroth; even if it was only the spawn of the silver headed terror.

He could have handled it if it was just Tseng. Tseng would have just nodded at him and asked him how he was doing. He would have nodded and just got Rude to drive him home where he would take a couple of pills and take a drink of something that he shouldn't have and go back to sleep.

Reeve would suddenly become obsessed with his phone and ignore him. He could handle that.

But Cloud. Cloud would stare at him with those damn mako eyes of his and smirk. Being rescued by Cloud, as glad as he was, was not the best situation for a Turk to be in.

It was one thing that he was constantly beat down by the man, but he didn't need to be reminded that it was Cloud that had bust through that door and seem him trussed up like a pig in the corner, helpless and pathetic. And it was Cloud damn glowing eyes that were judging him and reminding him also of the psyco-bitch who had tortured him.

Yeah. Psycho. He just realized that he was applying that word to pretty much everything now. It seemed like a good word to use.

Tseng spotted him before he could hide.

Damn it.

He didn't like how his boss was giving him a pathetic, _how-are-you _smile and _are-you-feeling-better_ look mixed with _he-is-really-messed-up_ eyes. "Reno," Tseng called and walked towards him.

As predicted, Reeve became very interested in his cell phone. He didn't even it hear it ring as he started to press buttons on it.

Cloud gave him a strange look that he didn't know how to read. Was it pity? Damn it, he didn't want pity. Especially from Cloud of all people!

"You are going home, now, correct," Tseng said as he approached. He knew the words could be a question, but it was more of a command coming from Tseng.

He nodded. He was sure that Tseng was well aware of his sessions. He was a Turk, even though the doctor said that it was all private, he knew better. Tseng would get the file and most likely used it for bed time reading.

"Still can't talk, huh?" Cloud said.

He just glared at Cloud. And what was with the clothes that he was wearing? What happened to all the leather that he used to wear? The man still wore that damn sword dangling off his back but he was just wearing jeans and this sweater that belonged on some GQ model or something. What the hell?

"I guess that is a yes," Cloud said with a smirk and amused look that was even in those glowing eyes.

Reno clenched his fists.

"Hair looks a little thin there," Cloud said.

Okay.

That was a low, low blow.

"Easy now, Reno." Tseng said and put a hand on his arm.

He shook off his bosses touch and gave Cloud the finger. At least he could communicate like that. His message defiantly got across but not now he thought it was going to be received. He though it would piss off the ex-SOLDIER, but it seemed to amuse him more. Damn him.

"It is so quiet around here now. I guess I should have gone for your throat," Cloud said.

Okay. That was it. Reno swung and Cloud easily moved back and… and that damn idiot laughed! Laughed. He really wished he had his weapon so he could give the spiky hair freak a curl to his hair with his EMR!

He swung his leg, trying to take down the man but he easily jumped out of the way.

"Prick."

Tseng made a gasping sound.

Cloud laughed.

He stood there stunned. Did he just say that? He opened his mouth and tried to say it again, but it didn't work. He put his hands on his throat to make sure that it was throat. It was his voice.

"Need me to piss you off again?" Cloud laughed at him.

He talked. He called Cloud a prick! How come he couldn't say it again? He tried but it didn't work out.

"You'll be back to insulting me in no time," Cloud said. "Of course, then I will really go for your throat to shut you up."

"That is enough now," Tseng said regaining his composure. "Reno?"

Reno just blinked and pointed to the elevator. He wanted to say that he was going home now. He tried to make his throat work as he walked to the elevator. Oblivious to how they were looking at him at that point and not caring how others were looking at him.

Reeve was saying something. He really did have something happen to his phone and was showing Tseng the information that was there. Tseng was frowned heavily at whatever it was on the phone and so did Cloud.

He didn't really care.

He talked.

And an insult!

He was starting to feel better!

* * *

To Be Continued….

Next Chapter…Breakdown & Rebuild


	15. Breakdown

**

* * *

**

LEFT BEHIND

* * *

**BREAKDOWN -1 **

**June 29 – Medical Centre – 3 PM**

* * *

Tseng was yelling into the phone as he ran up the stairs. Cloud had already passed him and had crashed through the door on the roof. He needed backup and he doubted that his Turks could handle it.

He didn't even know if Cloud could.

He punched some more numbers as he ran and hear the building go into shutdown happen. Not that it would do any good really. The problem was on the roof and he hoped that what they were going to encounter was not actually up there.

He burst onto the roof. Cloud had his swords out and looked like a feral animal as he looked at their new enemy.

Genesis.

The dead SOLDIER stood there with his arm wrapped around the waist of Lore. Lore looked like he was trying to talk to the should-be-dead SOLDIER. His piercing blue eyes were focused on the as they stood at the stairwell.

"I don't remember you being in SOLDIER," Genesis said as he stared at Cloud.

Cloud grumbled. "I was never in SOLDIER!"

"Genesis!" Tseng yelled.

Genesis gave him a large smile that made him look quite insane. "It has been awhile, Tseng. I won't be staying long though. I just came to collect Lore here and I will be on my way." Genesis wrapped his arm tighter around Lore waist.

Lore made a small gasping sound and shook his head violently. "I can't leave! Gen! Stop this! I can't leave Lira and Errow."

Genesis frowned at the man in his arms. "Quit being defiant."

Tseng gasped as a large black wing emerged from his the man shoulder. He heard Cloud growl at the sight.

Tseng had his gun out. He doubted that he could really hurt Genesis but he would try. Cloud twirled one of his blades in his hands, there was a fury in his eyes that Tseng had not seen before and it was quite terrifying to see.

Is that how he looked when he fought Sephiroth?

"You are supposed to be dead!" Cloud roared.

"And why would you care?" Genesis said.

Cloud growled. "Why do YOU get to come back from the dead?"

Genesis brow furrowed. Lore was trying to free himself and failing miserably at it. Genesis had him in a firm grip. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Genesis said.

"What do you think it means!" Cloud said and lunged forward without another word of warning. Genesis blocked the blow and from the look on his face was quite shocked to see the power in the blow. He threw Lore to the side as he skidded back from the impact.

"This is not your battle!" Genesis yelled. "I just came for my Lore."

Tseng knew that Genesis and Lore had developed a relationship all those years ago, but he did not think that it had lasted past a couple of letters. Again, a sign of his failure to read that situation in Bearnin correctly.

Cloud screamed as he hacked and slashed. Genesis used his wing to leap into the sky in one smooth sweep of his ring and at the same time threw Lore towards him. Cloud was not perturbed at all by the leap. His body was starting to glow as he leapt after Genesis.

Tseng caught Lore, loosing his gun in the action. He set down Lore who was panting and looking quite pale after being thrown. "I didn't know Tseng. I really didn't know. I hadn't seen him since Sephiroth died and I thought that that he had died with him. I didn't know." His voice was hushed and frantic.

Tseng didn't say anything. It didn't really matter what he had to say. He was keeping his eyes on the battle that was raging. There was a crash to the roof as Genesis was knocked down into a crumple of wings. Cloud had joined his two swords together and in a terrible and mad sounding scream came straight at Genesis.

He knew Cloud was a superb fighter. He had been defeated by him before as well, but this fight was a hell of a lot more power and anger being thrown about. He had not witnessed how he had fought and defeated Sephiroth but this is how he must have looked.

Genesis must have seen it coming, but couldn't move out of the way in time as Cloud's sword pierced his belly and pinned him to the roof. Cloud was way to fast.

Lore gave a horrible gasping sound and Genesis screamed. He felt the boy (Tseng had to remind himself that he wasn't a child anymore) tried to get up. Tseng pushed him back down. He may not be a child anymore, but he was not strong enough to deal with the two crazed mako enhanced fighters.

"You are supposed to be dead! Dead! Why the hell do you get to crawl out of your grave and terrorize the world again! Why do all you assholes get to come back from the grave!" Cloud said as he twisted the sword slightly, causing Genesis to scream again. "Why can't… can't someone good come back." Cloud's eyes looked they were full of blue fire.

"Why can't…Z…Zack… or… or…Air… Areith…" Cloud pulled the sword out of Genesis body, sending a spray of blood across his own face. Genesis lay there gasping and holding the hole in his belly. Blood dribbling down his lips.

"What are you?" Genesis gasped through the blood. Not, who are you? What.

Cloud laughed as tears rushed down his face. "I am the perfect monster. Hojo's greatest failure." He continued to laugh as he split his sword apart.

"Don't kill him!" Lore pleaded, his voice was small and weak. It was not really a true plea and Tseng was pretty sure that Cloud could not hear him. Genesis must have for his head turned towards them.

"Cloud!" Tseng said loudly standing in front of Lore. "He is done."

"He still breathes!" Cloud said as he ran his right hand through his hair, smearing blood through his blond hair. He was still laughing and the laugh was quite disturbing.

"Gen?" Lore whispered behind him.

_Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul  
Pride is lost  
Wings stripped away, the end is nigh_

Genesis voice was soft and weak and after the piece of poetry spouted from his bloodly lips, he laughed as well.

Tseng retrieved and raised his gun and wasn't to sure who he should point it at.

**

* * *

**

BREAKDOWN -2

**June 29 – Medical Centre -4:00 PM**

* * *

Reno was a shaking mess and he knew it. Being trapped in the elevator sure as hell didn't help him with his nerves. Rude had been waiting for him with the door opened.

He was not proud that he was huddled in the corner of the elevator waiting for it to start moving again. Rude grabbed him and carried him to a private room and waited for him to compose himself. Rude had stood there quietly not saying anything. Being the silent brick that Reno needed.

He wanted to ask what happened, but the words did not come out. He was able to insult Strife but he couldn't ask a simple question. It nearly caused him to breakdown again and he just furiously brushed at his eyes.

Rude made a small grunting sound. "Genesis."

He looked at Rude. Sometimes he was grateful that Rude could sometimes read his thoughts.

"He came for Lore," Rude said. Lore. Yeah. Of course. He was a Loveless freak too. He remembered being tortured with that stupid play/poem (whatever it was) as he would babble about the interpretation, even when he couldn't talk back to him.

But…Genesis was supposed to be dead! MIA. What the hell was he still doing alive! Of course, so was Sephiroth and he found ways to get back, Genesis must have found a way as well.

"Ready to go?" Rude said.

He nodded. As ready as he was ever going to be.

Of course, he had to come out of that room at the worst possible time.

There was Tseng, Cloud and Lore walking down the hall. Tseng had a grip on Lore neck and a heavy frown on his face. Cloud had a deep frown on his face.

And they were all full of blood.

Clouds odd preppy clothes were splashed with blood that was even more gruesome than if it was he normal leathers, also the fact that he had his sword out and gripped tightly in his hands. Cloud was being a SOLDIER. He kept saying that he never was a SOLDIER, and he knew that was true, but he still had the look and behavior of one.

Lore was splashed with blood as well and his knees were soaked with blood, as if he had been kneeling in a pool. Tseng even had a splash across his face.

Lore didn't even look at him but looked like he was weeping.

They were a very gruesome threesome.

"Shit," he was able to whisper at the sight of them. Rude grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, out of the gloomy troop's way. Cloud glared at him. Reno saw how his eyes were cold and non-responsive.

He was no longer really curious as to what had happened and just wanted to go home. He wanted to get away from the madness. He wondered who blood they were splashed with. It was Rude that answered him unspoken question. "Genesis."

* * *

**BREAKDOWN - 3 **

**June 29 – Medical Center – 3:30 PM**

* * *

Errow was glad that people were leaving him alone. He hated that they were always hovering around him. Everyone had rushed out of his room and he was grateful that he was finally alone.

It had been so long since he had been alone.

He hadn't been able to see his mother.

He hadn't been able to see his uncle.

He was alone and scared and in a lot of pain. The treatments that they said that would help him didn't do anything to help how it felt like his back was going to cause him to split in two.

He knew the pains would come again and cripple him for a couple more hours soon, but he was going to take advantage of being left alone.

He slipped off his bed and padded on his bare feet to the room where they knew they observed him. He wanted to get to the computer. He was tired of them comparing him to his father without saying his name! They would just say, he has the same hair as he did or he has the same color of eyes, he has the same build, he has the same… same…same…

And he didn't even know who his father was!

He was tired of being compared to something that he had no idea was.

He sat down at the computer and wonder where he should start. He didn't know what his fathers name was. Not even his own family would tell him.

He clicked on the mouse and saw his file. There was a bunch of lab results that meant nothing to him. He clicked through the file, looking for signs that maybe, maybe he could understand who is father was before he died.

He knew that there were all trying to save him but he knew that he was going to die. You didn't become in so much pain, and not die.

He scrolled through all the files that were open on the screen. There was nothing on his father and he felt the ache starting to build in his back. It was coming early today, but he needed to find something. Anything!

He held back the tears that he knew would be coming. He could cry when he was in pain. He clicked through boring medical files and then he found one with a strange name on it.

Sephiroth.

He opened he folder and saw a huge array of folders that was full of more medical information.

Sephiroth.

He knew his fathers name began with the letter S.

He scoured the files, clicking as fast as the computers would allow seeing if he could find a picture. Something. He found a folder was named images. He opened that folder and then there was more folders that were labeled by age. They ended with a folder with the word… older than 30. His dad died when he was in his thirties. He opened the folder and opened the first picture that was there. He swallowed hard as a picture of a man, that could be nothing else but his father opened on the screen. He clicked through all the pictures that were in that file. His father. He did look like his father and his father looked like a man to contend with. Every picture had him in armor and with a very long and intimidating looking sword on his back or in his left hand.

His father had been a member of SOLDIER. That was evident.

He went back a folder and then selected the one that was marked age 8. He gasped. There were pictures that could have been him, maybe a little bigger of build than he was now, but still he looked so very much the same and was even wearing the same type of hospital gown. Sitting on a table looking…scared. Did his father go through the same thing that he was going through? There were more pictures of his father when he was 8. There were a lot of pictures of him in what looked like the same type of medical facility that he was in and a lot of pictures of him around people with lab coats.

Did his father go through all what he was going through?

There were no pictures of him with kids his age. There were no pictures of him with anyone that looked like they cared for him. He went to the age 0 file. Same type of pictures. They weren't recording the happy moments in his life that were supposed to be there. They were even comments on the pictures about some stage of development. He was beginning to understand why his mother did not want him to be around so many doctors and began to understand why she acted the way that she did.

He randomly picked the 20 year old folder. The first picture showed him a picture of his father smiling. He was around other SOLDIERS and obviously it was from a battle field. He wasn't in the black armor that he wore in the other pictures; he was in the armor of a Second Class SOLDIER with another man's arm around his shoulder. It looked, even there; his father was not a man that was used to smiling. There were other pictures of him smiling, and they were all on a battle field and every picture had his father holding that long sword with blood on it. His back ached.

The pain would be unbearable soon but he wanted to know more about his father. He wanted to know more about his father and the pictures seemed to be the only way that he could know his father. He clicked on a folder and didn't see the age. He strolled through pictures. He was in the usual garb that the older pictures had. The long leather jacket and there was even a few pictures where he actually looked happy and there wasn't blood on his sword in those. What was his father really like? He wanted to ask his mother and uncle all these questions. He wanted to ask everyone what his father was really like and why everyone feared him.

He then clicked on a folder that said MISC. He opened it the numbered photo and gasped. It was a picture of his father, blurry, but defiantly his father, fighting that guy with the mako eyes and blond hair. They were enemies? A pain that rippled through his back again. He opened another picture blurry, but showing that his father was fighting someone, this time the guy had black hair. Another picture of him fighting the blond. A picture of his father, hovering with a strange appendage on his back, looking like he was in pain and that blond guy was in the picture again.

His father… what the hell was he?

He started to cry.

Was this why no one wanted to talk about him? Was that why he never met his father and his mother didn't want to talk about him?

His back rippled with pain. He didn't scream. He didn't scream anymore, at least when he was awake.

How much was he like his father really? He opened another file and he recognized the background in the picture. It was a picture of his home and there was his father, and his mother, standing talking to each other in front of the inn. Another SOLDIER talking with his uncle and that Turk that sometimes came to talk to him. Tseng. There were a few pictures of her mother and father together, looking quite professional.

Mom looked young and happy in the pictures that they obviously did not know about. Mom hated pictures.

Did his dad love his mother? Even if it was only for a little while? The images became blurry as his eyes teared up. He wanted to talk to his mom or his uncle and ask them all the questions that viewing the pictures had given him. Did his father even know about him? He never realized that it could hurt so much thinking about a father that he had never even known. He realized he missed the father that he didn't even know.

"Hey!"

The lab coats were back. He recognized one of their voices. He looked up and saw that there were three of them coming at him.

"Errow, you shouldn't be out of bed."

He blinked and shook his head at them. "I want to see my mom," he whispered and not for the first time. They started to talk to him about how they would try to arrange to have it happen and knew that they were lying.

He thought about the picture of Sephiroth, his father, when he was eight. He wondered if they talked to him like that too. Telling him lies to make him comply.

His back felt like it was rippling. A different type of pain that came through him. New and just as painful. Someone said something about the pictures he was viewing and someone was getting cursed out for not locking the console.

"Come on now, Errow. Let's get you back to bed." He thought that voice belonged to Alice. She had been nice to him, but she was still wearing the white coat and she wasn't telling him the truth about anything.

Surely that is what his father had felt. "I want my mom," he said. Mom at least understood.

"You know, dear, that she is in special care right now," Alice said.

"I don't care. I want my mom!" Errow yelled as the pain rippled through him again. He wasn't going to let it control him. "I want my mom now!"

Alice continued to talk but he no longer listened to her. The computer with the pictures of his father was shut off. Someone was moving him back to his prison of his hospital room.

He was scared.

He wanted the comfort of his mother and uncle and his grandma and his grandpa and… …he wanted his freedom back.

The pain shifted a bit. It was still pain but it felt like something loosening. Like when you get that pesky sliver out of your skin that embedded deep into your palm. He heard his shirt that he was wearing ripping and everyone around him screaming and backing away from him in a startled manner.

He knew what it was.

It was that picture, the last blurry one of his father, hovering over the ground, with the blond getting ready to attack him. That told him what was wrong with his back, even though none of the doctors could figure it out.

He was glad to finally figure out how he could be free of the pain. Pain that wasn't going to kill him after all, but to set him free.

Now he had to figure out how much he was like his father, a man that he had just begun to learn about from those pictures on the computer and had already helped him past the pain that had just about consumed him.

* * *

**…next chapter… rebuild…**

**Read, Review, Comment.**


	16. Build Up

**LEFT BEHIND ****REBUILD 1 **

* * *

**June 29 – Medical Centre – 10 PM**

* * *

"Cloud?"

He heard the familiar voice but didn't want to look up. It was almost too painful to look up. After what he had done …

"Cloud?"

The voice was soft and gentle but he still didn't look up. Hands touched his shoulders but he still didn't want to look at her. He doubted he could even say her name.

"Come on. Look at me," she said and her hand was trying to force his head up. He pulled back but of course the movement he was forced to look at her and he felt like his heart was going to crack.

"Tifa," was all he could whisper. He nearly chocked on his own heart that was threatening to jump out of his throat. He quickly closed his eyes again and turned away from her.

But he had already looked at her. She was kneeling in front of him with her large dark eyes staring at him. She was wearing simple clothes, like she had rushed over here. She must have been sleeping when someone called her. She should be in bed. She shouldn't be running about.

She could no longer hide her belly at eight months.

"It'll be okay," she said.

_Was it?_

He shook his head and tried to get some words out of his mouth but they wouldn't come. Instead of speaking, he reached down to her and had her stand up. He held her close to him. He opened his eyes and forced himself to look at her face. She didn't deserve his moodiness. He thought he was past this. She didn't deserve to have him dealing with all that was happening again. She didn't deserve to have him leave her because of all the things that happened in the past.

She blinked at him and smiled. "It's okay. Really."

He had to look away from her again but he didn't release her arms.

"I…I…" he stammered. He couldn't talk because words just didn't seem to match his despair that he was feeling and how torn it was to feel like this again. Saying, sorry, seemed like a pretty weak way to apologize right now. She deserved more than a simple 'I'm sorry.' He had told her that enough over the years.

"Don't pull away again," she whispered. "We need you."

He felt her firm belly pressed against his own. He found his hands going to the belly that contained his child. They didn't know if it was a girl or a boy yet, they had not asked the doctors that.

His child.

"I know. I just… I just... I didn't want…" he couldn't say anymore. Man, he was pathetic.

"I know," Tifa said simply.

He sighed and was going to say more, but the movement of the child, _his child,_ against his hand stopped him. Tifa made a grunting sound. "This kid is trying to get out already." She smiled when she said that and it was the softest smile that he was getting used to seeing now. He liked that soft smile.

The kids wiggling and kicking was a common complaint and she made that smile every time that she said it. It made him smile to, even if it was small.

"Tifa," he whispered.

"Hum?"

"I have something to ask you," he said and rubbed the belly. The kid kicked again and caused him to smile more. He focused on the belly. His child that he had never knew he wanted until Tifa told him that she was pregnant.

"What?" Her voice soft and understanding.

He could feel tears leaving his eyes as he spoke. He wasn't if he would be able to get the thoughts out of his mouth. "I know we haven't decided on names yet, but, if it is a boy, can we name him Za.. Zack and if it a girl, Ar…Aerith?" He didn't know what she would think of naming the child after his once best friend (and the man who he still shared memories with) and a girl that had been her rival for his heart and truthfully, still held a large part of it.

Her hands rested on top of his, which rested on her large belly, and he looked at her face now. He hoped that she wasn't mad.

"Of course," she said. "I was waiting for you to ask."

He smiled brightly and leaned in for a kiss.

"Sap."

He pulled back and saw Reno crinkling his nose at them.

He frowned at the Turk. "That is three words I heard from you today, Turk," he said simply but held onto Tifa firmly. "I think you are faking that lack of voice of yours. I do believe you need to get a better vocabulary though. Prick, Shit and Sap are pretty limited for use."

Reno just frowned at him and looked like he was trying to say something but the words did not come out. Cloud chuckled lightly and turned his back on the Turk and escorted Tifa away from the place. She did not need to be here.

* * *

**REBUILD 2 **

**June 29 – Medical Centre – Midnight**Tseng watched at the images on the monitor. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep so he had stayed in his newly acquired office replaying the images of the day.

* * *

They all were horrible images to watch again, but then, he had to remind himself that this was some failure to read the situations that occurred in Bearnin all those years ago.

He knew that Genesis had grown fond of Lore in that period of time and was even aware of the increased correspondence that occurred after that. Looking back through the information he should have seen it but with all the other trouble that Genesis caused, some recruits that turned him down, were not a high priority on his list for observation. Lira was a higher priority than Lore.

Of course Lore now was a nervous ball of energy that had to be sedated. Of course, it was only part of it was the fact that Genesis had just tried to forcefully abduct him off the roof the medical center. It also had to do with the fact that Errow, the cause of all these trouble right now, had sprouted a pair of silvery wings and had discovered who his father was and had demanded a large array of answers from everyone around him.

The boy who had been silently waiting for death to take him was now a demanding child who wanted answers. He was acting more like his father and he didn't even know it.

An un-degraded but nearly dead Genesis lay in a secured room.

A degrading Lira lay at the bottom of detention center going further mad and waiting for her own death.

Reno only able to utter a few curse words.

Cloud nearly loosing his mind at the sight of Genesis.

He was not holding up all that well himself.

Everything had crumbled around him and he felt like he was in the center of it all. Having to further explain his failures to Rufus had been exhausting and emptying. Rufus had just thanked him for the update and told him to leave.

Where was this even going?

All those experiments that he had aided in his own way by following orders were still raising havoc in the world.

He really wished he stopped it.

He laughed at the thought. How could he have stopped it? If he had tried, he most likely would have ended up in a basement somewhere and in a test tube just like Cloud and Zack did.

He clicked on the camera that he was observing Genesis. They had him chained to the bed and had not reawaken from the surgery to fix him up from the hole that Cloud put through him. Tseng knew that those chains wouldn't really hold him once he woke.

Genesis. He was supposed to be dead.

He did agree with Clouds comments about how they never seemed to be dead. It was quite infuriating at times to realize that all those that were experimented on, don't really seemed to die.

Well, only the good ones.

Zack was still dead.

Cloud came back after the remnants.

Why couldn't Zack come back too?

He sighed heavily again.

The image of the angelic Errow; the boy who is the genetic legacy of the world's worse menace, was on the next screen. He was sleeping now with Lore whom he had refused to let leave. Another reminder that Errow was now changed.

He figured that was why Lira did not want to tell him about who is father really was. The change had been immediate.

He changed the picture to the detention center and looked at Lira. She wasn't sleeping. He doubted that she slept much, it was only in fits and spurts and as usual, she was staring at the camera. Very unnerving to see her staring down the camera. The woman that had a bit of Sephiroth's heart. He had just thought they were using each other for sexual amusement. He remembered that first morning that he had watched Lore throw back that tent flap to yell at his lazy sister to get out of bed, only to see the silver and black hair entangled on the cot in the tent. Lore had sputtered and laid the flap back down. Genesis had yelled at Sephiroth for being a damn womanizer. Lira had just shrugged and said, "I will do as I please, thank you. You are not my keepers."

Indeed.

They had quite the tryst over that mission. It was not like Sephiroth's normal tryst's either. The man had been of course known for the fact that he would use and throw away his fan girls like they were used bathwater. He had never slept with one twice, until Lira.

He also remembered, quite clearly that he did not play with his fangirls after being with Lira. He must have been fond of if he was not to go back to his old ways of pouncing on anything that was offered to him.

It was one of the reasons that he wanted her to be a Turk. Who else could have tamed Sephiroth? He wished that he had been more persistent. Pregnant or not, she would have been a great addition to ShinRa.

Things could have been so different.

But he couldn't regret everything that he did in the past.

He couldn't change what he had done with so many things, that he would have loved to have changed.

He typed in a series of numbers and times in the computer. He was curious about the session that Reno had today and wanted to see the notes the doctor made. He was grateful that he was hearing a few words out of his mouth, even if they were curses, and directed at Cloud.

He would have to make sure that they spend more time together to get that normally rapid tongue moving together.

* * *

To Be Continued….


	17. Reno & Rufus

**LEFT BEHIND**

* * *

**RENO**

**June 30 – Medical Centre – 9 AM**

* * *

Reno knew they were all going to be mad at him for not letting anyone know that he left his place. He would use the lack of voice as an excuse until someone reminded him that he could have texted them.

Plus, it wasn't like he took off somewhere he shouldn't be. He was back at the medical center.

Well, that wasn't entirely true either. He was in a room that he shouldn't be and he wasn't to sure that it was such a great idea.

He chewed his lip nervously as he looked in the room. Lore and that kid, Errow were there, but there was something different about the kid and it took a couple of moments.

He had come because he wanted to see Lore and try to talk to him. He had his new friend, a handy dandy note pad, ready to ask Lore… well, he had some questions, he was sure of it. So he couldn't think of it now, but he would when he had to ask Lore the questions.

Errow moved and it would have caused him to scream if he had his voice. Because it wasn't his arm, or a leg that moved, it was a pair of damn wings that he had now mounted on his back.

Lore opened his dark blue eyes and looked at him with startled blinks.

"Reno?" he whispered in a soft voice; the same type of soft voice that was used when he was in that basement to calm him after his sister tortured him.

Okay. So this wasn't one of his best ideas in the world. Okay, maybe it was up there in the worst idea he had ever had. He had been so confident about 'talking' to him until he was looking at him.

"Are you okay?" Lore asked as he looked down at him with those same caring eyes. Was it just an act? Reno couldn't tell. It was almost scary that he kind of felt sorry for the guy. He didn't mind feeling sorry for him; after all, he was just was unfortunate to have a crazy sister. He wasn't the one causing all the trouble. So he had read him Loveless for hours as a method of torture. He should have been mad at Lore. He should at least be a little upset at Lore. Why did he not feel a little bit upset at his treatment?

"Still can't talk, huh?" Lore said. "I am really sorry for what my sister did to you." His voice was low and sad. Maybe he did mean it. His eyes looked like he meant it. Damn it, the guy was a _nice_ guy mixed up with _bad_ people.

Hell, he was on the list of bad people.

"Why are you here?" Lore asked.

Good damn question.

He couldn't think of why the hell this was a good idea. He should just turn on his heels, go back home, and hide under the covers. Yeah, act like a child and think that a small sheet of cotton can protect you from a world of monsters.

"Mr. Reno."

He was startled at the little voice and the kid green eyes looking at him. Those green eyes freaked him right out. The same green as Sephiroth, but with kindness in them and it was a little unnerving. Damn it.

He had to keep telling himself, that it wasn't the kid's fault that his parents were screwed up experiments.

Errow was just a kid born into a strange situation.

It ended up with wings.

Man. No one deserved to be an experiment.

"You cut your hair," the boy said and readjusted himself on his uncle's chest and ruffled his wings. He smiled with perfect white teeth.

He realized that he had never seen the kid smile. He had always just looked at him with solemn look on his face and sometimes pity when he was not moaning in pain. He remembered once that the kid had been crying _for him_. The kid had apologized for what his mother was doing to him.

He wondered if Sephiroth could have ever looked like that. He had never seen the man smile beyond a tugging at the corner of the lips.

He ran his fingers through his way to short hair and gave a small smirk. He wanted to say something, but of course, words wouldn't come out.

"Mom won't hurt you anymore if you talk. It's okay now," Errow said still with a smile. He ruffled his wings and seemed to be happy about them. He folded them neatly on his back as if they had them all his life.

He took a step back. He was scared now and it wasn't of the man in the bed but the calm way the boy was talking to him.

Okay, so it was a really bad idea to come here. He was not known for his good ideas. Of course, he was not expecting the kid to have sprouted wings overnight.

Lore was looking at him with a concerned look. Okay, so he had a bad case of that Stockholm syndrome when he wasn't even the least bit mad at the guy.

Did he see Genesis wings and did something click in him to understand the pain that was in his back and consuming him was supposed to be natural. Well, natural for him. Natural for an experiment of ShinRa.

"I am not my father," Errow whispered and looked down at his hands. "I know who he is now and I know why people are scared of me."

He looked at the kid.

"And I am not my mother."

Yeah.

He took another step back.

A hand fell on his shoulder and he just about jumped out of his skin. It was Tseng. He was frowning at him and looking a little ruffled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Of course, he couldn't answer. He wanted too, not that he could have said anything that was rational anyway. He really had no answer that would be appropriate, or made sense.

Errow frowned at Tseng and seem to cower against his uncle now. Errow frowned obviously did not like the leader of the Turks. Lore hugged his nephew tighter but did not say anything.

"Where is Rude!" It wasn't a question. "You are not to travel around alone!" He took a few steps back from the angry Tseng.

Lore was hugging Errow tighter. Tseng grabbed him roughly and dragged him out of the room and into the hall. "What the hell did you doing? You are not well enough to confront him. Did you think you could talk to him? What the hell did you plan on saying?"

Tseng was not one for profane language or showing emotion on his face, but there was written on his face.

"Reno. You will go to my office and sit there. Sleep or something but you will not leave until Rude comes to collect you!" Tseng said and shoved his shoulder. "There is enough difficulties happening now, you don't need to complicate things further."

Complicate things further…

Reno could only blink.

He was complicating things?

It wasn't the first time that he had been told that he had been complicating things, but it was the first time that it bothered him.

He swallowed hard and ground his teeth. He shook his head at Tseng. He opened his mouth to yell at him, but of course, nothing would come out. He tried to call him every name in the book, but even curses were beyond his capability at the moment.

"Do I need to escort you?" Tseng hissed.

He was not a child and didn't like being treated like one.

Tseng grabbed his arm sharply and they started to walk and he followed. In the elevator, Tseng sighed. "How are you going to get better if you don't follow directions?"

He pouted. He knew that he was pouting. He knew that he was acting like a child. He hated not being able to talk. He hated that he failed the mission. He hated that he cut his hair. He hated the fact that he wasn't even mad at the guy who had forced him to listen to horrible poetry. He couldn't even hate the Sephiroth-spawn which had sprouted wings. He did hate that crazy woman. That was who he was supposed to confront her, not him. She was the only one that he hated. He couldn't even hate that pesky Cloud after seeing him nearly broke down and had to have Tifa (a very fat Tifa) to bring him back from his normal sulkiness.

Well, at least he had the hate for one person.

But there was no way he could look at that woman. Hell, he couldn't even think of her name without shivering. All he could see was her glowing blue eyes, which resembled Clouds.

"I should send you away, Reno," Tseng said as the elevator opened. "You are not going to get better like this."

He shook his head. Yeah. Tseng was right. Tseng dragged him down the hall. But he wasn't going to get better running away from all of it either and he was not going to allow them to ship him out.

He blinked. This wasn't Tseng office. It was on the opposite side of the building. He looked around.

"Lira destroyed my office," Tseng said obviously seeing the look on his face. "Stay here. Order some breakfast…" He frowned. "I will order you something."

Reno found a chair, crossed his arms and legs.

"Quit pouting like a child," Tseng said. "I will most likely being telling you to shut up in no time."

* * *

**RUFUS**

**June 30 – Medical Centre – 9 AM**

* * *

Rufus had only met Genesis twice in his youth and the man did strike him as strange and eccentric man. Seeing him sitting with a bandaged chest in his bare room with bandages across his chest, his eyes shaded behind his reddish-brown hair and a stupid battered book in his hand.

"So you are the president now," Genesis said.

"Yes," he said simply.

"You are not a boy anymore. I remember you being quite a brat," Genesis said with a smirk.

He heard Reeve gasp beside him but did not say anything.

"So," Genesis said looking directly at Reeve. His eyes are glowing more than he remembered any SOLDIER's eyes glowing. They were almost scary. "You are the figure head, eh, Reeve."

Reeve swallowed but said nothing.

Genesis chuckled.

"Who was that SOLDIER that skewered me?" Genesis said, his eyes going between them. A hand touching his bandaged chest where Cloud had tried to kill him.

Reeve spoke, "He was never a SOLDIER."

Genesis cocked his head to the side. "So, what do you call them now?"

Rufus frowned. "He is the one that killed Sephiroth."

Genesis laughed at that and stopped when it hurt his chest. "That punk? Killed Sephiroth?"

"He would have finished you, if Tseng did not stop him. Cloud has no love loss for any SOLIDERS," Rufus said.

"So, am I supposed to be grateful that I am alive." there was so much hate in that voice. "All hail ShinRa! Or should I just call it by its new name, the WRO." Pure hate was all that he felt off the man.

"You are supposed to be dead," Rufus said, "After your defection started the ruin of my father's company."

"Am I given that much credit?" Genesis said with a smile. "Should I be honoured?"

"I would have preferred if Cloud had killed you," Rufus said hotly. "Honestly. I do not know why Tseng stopped him from killing you. You have caused so many problems with your own little personal vendettas to become a hero." He saw how Genesis eyes narrowed. "Was that not your goal? To be a hero? Of course, it seems that all you have achieved was the failed experiment they declared you."

Genesis hissed as he tried to move but the pain of whole in his chest. Maybe some of what he said struck true and I wasn't just the hole in his chest that was hurting him.

"Of course, Cloud was called that as well," Rufus said with a chuckle. "He proved them all wrong."

"That pipsqueak?" Genesis frowned.

"We are not here to talk about Cloud." Rufus said. "We are here to talk about how the hell you are even alive."

"Apparently, Tseng stopped that Cloud character from killing me," Genesis sad quickly.

The man was infuriating.

"Where were you all these years?"

Genesis shrugged. "Underground."

Reeve sucked in his breath.

"How come you are no longer degrading?" Reeve asked.

Genesis shrugged and groaned. The shrug obviously hurt him. "Damn. That kid did just about do me in, worse than when Zack skewered me."

"He learned from the best," Reeve said. "Why are you not degrading further? From our understanding, at the time you and Zack had your little tiff, you were at the end of the line."

Genesis shook his head. "Another experiment," he whispered. "It seems to have worked. I recovered with the help of my brother."

"Brother?" Reeve said in a startled tone.

Rufus raised his eyebrows.

"Who is your brother?" Rufus asked.

Genesis smirked. "A fellow SOLDIER who fell from grace, such as I." He put his hand dramatically to his head. "I am rather tried now and would like to rest further."

Rufus could see that he needed no such rest.

"Quit messing with us Genesis," Rufus said. "I am having little patience dealing with my fathers mistakes and I would say that you are one of the biggest."

Genesis scowled at him but seemed to cringe as if his wound was hurting him. He obviously did not like being criticized either. Good. He was tried of coddling all the crazy's that he was surrounded by. All of which seemed to have been cultivated by his own crazy father.

"We have you on our plate and I am really not sure I want to deal with you. Apparently, we will have your brother to deal with as well. I have a SOLDIER who was not a SOLDIER breathing down my neck. There is a boy, who is the ultimate accidental experiment of all time, with wings now, just so you know, locked up in the medical wing. I have a crazy woman that destroyed half my building had taken one of my most talented Turks and broke him. I have a half-crazed woman degrading in a prison just waiting to die and waiting for her son to die. Did I miss anything in this crazy plot?" Rufus said.

Genesis looked at him and blinked. "You forgot about Lore," he said in a whisper. "The reason I am here."

"Why are you here for Lore?" Reeve said simply.

"Because he is mine," Genesis said simply. "I wanted to take him with me, but he won't leave his stupid sister of his." The tone changed to a bit of anger. "He is a grown man now and he doesn't need to be coddled by that crazy sister of his anymore."

Rufus tilted his head back. "You want him to leave his family?"

Genesis nodded.

"All we need is each other," he said and his eyes fluttered. Apparently their interview was over. Blood bloomed across the bandage that was across his chest. He dropped the old copy of loveless and groaned. "We don't need those that pretend to be our families."

Rufus shook his head. "We will deal with your psychosis later," he said nodding to Reeve. "I have enough of this. It is getting us nowhere."

Genesis looked like he was having trouble breathing.

He left the room, as other people entered.

He wanted to talk to Tseng.

* * *

To Be Continued…

Next chapter will be more interesting.


End file.
